Trust the Rope

At Life in the Dash, our passion may be overlanding, but our mission is seizing every opportunity to fully live life knowing that tomorrow is never promised. Living that out is a conscious choice and Fear is the enemy. It keeps you from trying new things and is a barrier that prevents people from trusting others with their feelings or their heart. Fear says to stay on the beaten path, to pass up opportunities, and to just play it safe. Fear is the opposite of living life in the Dash.

Two Saturdays ago, March 25, I had the privilege of seeing fear conquered by bravery and replaced with joy and laughter. It was on that day, that my daughter's class was to have its first formal social event, known to them as Protocol. The purpose of Protocol is to learn the manners and etiquette necessary to be comfortable in a formal setting. To the girls in the class, this was a day that could not come quickly enough. To the boys, this was a dark and menacing storm cloud, cold and ominous that loomed ever closer on the horizon, threatening to drown their dignity, strangle their soul, and possibly even require them to... dance! (Little known fact, this is what causes many young boys to decide early on to choose the life of either a mountain man or a pirate, far away from such craziness.)

In preparation for Protocol, I went to my daughter's class the day before the event to teach a block of instruction on table etiquette, manners, and decorum, We discussed how good manners are not about making a person look good, but about making those around them feel important and respected. We talked about table settings, how to properly manipulate the knife and fork when cutting food, and of course which of the quiver of four-tined utensils lurking mysteriously to the left of the plate to use and when. Additionally, we discussed opening doors, waiting to be seated, where to place your napkin, and how to arrange your knife and fork to signify to the waitstaff that you are finished with your meal.

As we practiced spearing and slicing Little Debbie Cupcakes with plastic knives and forks on the finest of "Chinet" paper plates, curiosity had evolved into excitement. However, those rumbling, steel-grey cumulonimbus clouds of fear came racing back as the conversation turned from the art of the dinner to that of the dance. We discussed how to ask someone to dance, how to thank someone for a dance, and to fear not, because the next day we would teach them how to dance. To the girls, this was rhapsody. To many of the young men, this was the equivalent of telling the soon-to-be beheaded not to worry, because the executioner is really good with a guillotine.

The following night at the Cork and Keg, across the street from the towering, pink granite courthouse in Waxahachie, Texas, young ladies arrived in gowns, young gentlemen showed up in suits, and all took great effort and care to execute what they had learned the day before. It was an elegant dinner filled with laughter, great food, and warm conversations. We then strolled across the street to Danceworks Waxahachie, which is owned by one of the parents and had been decorated with balloons and feathers, As we walked the students through the various dances, fear and trepidation gave way to jubilation. The sudden realization by all that NO ONE knew how to dance allowed EVERYONE to be comfortable stepping on toes and losing the beat. Two young men, who were by far the MOST mortified by the idea of dancing discovered they had an ear for rhythm and a talent for tripping the light fantastic. Fear was replaced with joy and confidence.

Overcoming fear requires trust. In the case of the dance, Ella and her classmates trusted Terri and me to create an environment in which they would could have fun and to provide the guidance they needed to be successful. Trust is a conscious decision and it is gained through experience. But what about when choosing to trust requires faith in something upon which your life or death literally hangs in the balance? Well, sometimes the only way you learn to trust that you will be kept from plummeting to your death, is by falling.

Yesterday, Terri, James, and I spent the afternoon at Summit climbing gym in Grapevine, TX. Summit has an amazing facility with hundreds of climbing routes, some of which are 50 feet tall. I was almost at the top of one of those 50 footers when I realized my grip was fading and my only option was to lunge for a hold that my brain was already telling me was out of reach. Using what little strength I had left, I launched myself up and to the right, pushing with both legs and willing my aching fingers to find their mark. I watched as the chalk from my hands created a tiny puff of white as my fingers hit the hold precisely where I had aimed, For at least a couple of milliseconds, it appeared I was victorious. Gravity, however, overcame effort and I peeled off the wall and out into the empty air, 40 feet off the deck. Falling had never crossed my mind and as I was slowly lowered to the ground, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered that climbing IS scary, until you get comfortable falling.

I fell in love with rock climbing in 1993 when my brother, John, and I took a class at Enchanted Rock State Park near Fredericksburg, TX. It was some of the best time my brother and I ever spent together and we climbed every chance we could. When you first start learning to climb, the goal is to NOT fall. As a result, you only look for routes you KNOW you can successfully reach the top of. Eventually though, you are going to fall and when you do something magical happens: you don't die. Before long, falling never even crosses your mind and you are free to push yourself and tackle routes you may or may not be able to reach the top of. Climbing becomes about the challenge of the ascent and not about reaching the top... kinda like overlanding.

James and Ella are still new to climbing. Neither of them has taken a surprise whipper and found themselves just hanging there by that little 11 millimeter-wide rope. They love to climb, but they haven't yet learned to trust the rope. Trust is hard. Even more than that, it's scary. But, trust opens the door to new experiences and teaches you to reach beyond what your mind tells you can do. Trust defeats fear.

So, how do I overcome fear? I trust that God loves me and has a plan for me. Make no mistake, it still isn't always easy. It has taken plenty of "plummets" to learn that I can trust God. That trust is what allows me to live life in the DASH. I hope you will follow along and live it with us.