Diving

My dad took this photo of me diving when I was maybe 11 or 12. My young face looks so determined and also afraid.

It’s been years since I’ve been on a diving board, but what I remember most about it, all those years and all those dives, is the vulnerability and the fear. There wasn’t a single time that I did a dive that I wasn’t afraid. It took so much courage every time to start each dive.

It’s good for me to remember that. Even if I am well trained, practice hard and excel at what I do, there’s courage in every step forward. Sometimes I would miscalculate and it would be really painful, other times I’d fall short or go long and make a big splash, but sometimes everything was perfect and it was beautiful and magical.

No matter what happened though, I’d move forward and take courage to do the next dive and the next. A solid life lesson. 

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.