The day of the jump
I missed it. Completely.
And not just any jump. Nope. THE jump. I only realised what had been going on Sunday October 14 in 2012. That’s when I saw one after the other message appear on Facebook.
Until then, I did not even know the guy’s name.
I do now.
Sometimes you have to up really high, to understand how small you are.
Felix Baumgartner
Who is Felix Baumgartner?
Felix Baumgartner undertook a stratospheric balloon flight to more than 120,000 feet or 36,576 meters.
He made a record-breaking free-fall jump in an attempt to become the first man to break the speed of sound in free-fall (an estimated 690 miles or 1,110 kilometers per hour), while delivering valuable data for medical and scientific advancement.
Felix himself about his jump
I wanted to see what was behind the edge.
Felix Baumgartner
What was waiting for me?
Of course it scares me. I lost a lot of friends to that sport.
Some of them made big mistakes.
Some of them, they just met with Murphy’s law.
If there are no goals left, what are you going to do?
Did he get there by sitting around?
Nope. He worked hard.
It took him more than 12 years to develop his free-fall skills.
12 years (!!) is a fascinating 12*365*24*60 = 6.3 million minutes.
He’s sure living this beautiful Brian Littrell quote who said:
Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.
Brian Littrell
What jump do I still wish to make in this lifetime?
Ok. Now.
I have more than one and here they are:
1. Write & publish a book
Preferably even more than one, a dream that I have had for years. What has kept me so far? Good question. Fear of not making sense, not clear on how personal I want to be. Most of my writing thus far has been personal.
Status: DONE. I wrote & published two books since writing this blogpost.
2. Ski and run again
My first slipped disk changed into a disappeared disk between the diagnosis hernia and today. Contact sports like skiing and running are painful. In addition, I got a second hernia. I do not know how yet, but I am determined to be able to do so again. One very fine day!
Status: CHANGED. I am currently pain free and have been for some years now. And, I love to hike. It feels like this dream has changed to training for long-distancing hiking.
3. Say Yes I do
Several years ago, I told my grannie who was then still with us and an old and wise woman, that I was much more old-fashioned than this day and age expects. I might even wish to be engaged. Ha! Now this is the one jump that I cannot do by myself. So if grace permits, one day I will say “yes I do”.
Status: OPEN. Also, haven’t spend a lot of time looking either, so I may have to do something about this 😉
4. Horseback ride through the rockies
Or some other beautiful place on earth… Make a long journey on horseback, sleep under the stars and enjoy that magical bond that horse lovers know all about!
Status: OPEN. And still want to. Though my back might be killing me in the process.
5. Travel through South America
I travelled quite a bit in my lifetime. From Alaska to South Korea, from Venezuela to Egypt, from Bali to Sweden and some. My travel bug has been satisfied. Yet, I would really love to travel to all the beautiful places in South America before this lifetime ends. Who knows. I might find a way to tick off three jumps in one… Both the previous and the next jump just might coincide with this one…
Status: OPEN. And changed to include New Zealand and Australia, including visiting dear family & friends in those places.
6. Speak Spanish as fluently as I do English
I dream in English, as well as loooove to write and read in English. And I am Dutch. 100%. As much as I enjoy this fluency, I would be so happy to be able to reach the same level in Spanish. Over the years I have taken the odd lesson but never persisted. Might be time to start now… And be prepared for this wondrous journey I am going to jump into, one fine day!
Status: ONGOING. Taking lessons with Duolingo as we speak. Still early stages but I have started.
7. Have a flourishing garden
Having bought a house a couple of years ago, I want to start a vegetable garden and be able to harvest my own veggies and fruits. The apple tree and berry bushes already in it, are doing their best each year.
Status: ONGOING. Making progress as we speak and I realised over the course of the past few years, this dream will change colours as does my garden, throughout the seasons. PS. now also started a 100 m2 veggie garden!
8. Bring several product ideas to the market
I have a number of products and ideas that I wish to launch. Thus far my work has been mainly consultancy based. There is more to come, still.
Status: This is an interesting one and if you wish to follow my work – please visit my business site.
9. Self realisation
In the end, my biggest jump would be that single one jump that is possible yet cannot be created with our beautiful mind. It’s all about dropping the story of who we think we are. Of all the jumps I wish to make, this is by far both the biggest and the smallest. After that, all that remains is ‘just’ being. Be who I already Am. Full stop.
Status: Mmm. This is the most interesting one and a lot has happened in this area. I can say while writing this update that I have come home. But that is food for thought and a different blog altogether.
What jump do YOU still wish to make?
Do you know what it is that is holding you back?
Any clue as to what you are waiting for?
If you wish – you can share in the comments below.
What it is that you would really like to still achieve / do / experience in this lifetime?
