Parasailing is not life changing. I waited two years to
check it off my life’s to-do list only to finally go for it. And it didn’t
change my life. It wasn’t what I expected, although I'm not sure what that was exactly.
Realizing the voucher I’d purchased a year prior was going
to soon expire, I set a date and invited my good friend K to join me. I
expected a surge of adrenaline, something to throw me out of my comfort zone or
to push my limits. Instead, I experienced a comfort, a calmness I didn’t
expect. Here I was, strapped to a harness hanging 500 feet above the Pacific
Ocean on a beautiful day – maybe even 76 degrees and sunny. I sat next to a
dear friend whose presence in my life makes me feel loved and supported. I
could see the outlines of the city that has my heart. I wore shorts, psoriasis
be damned. And we watched dolphins dance in the water.
I didn’t realize how quiet and peaceful it would be soaring
500 feet above the ocean. I anticipated it to sound windy and scary. Instead, I
took a deep breath and I watched and talked with my friend. I recognized how lucky I am. Lucky to be alive. Lucky to have such great friends and to live in an amazing place. I'm lucky to feel happy, even if only just in that moment.
It wasn’t life changing. But it did make me pause. I stopped
and existed only in that moment. I shouldn’t need to go parasailing to live in
the moment. I can do it any time I like. All I need to do is stop, look around
me and take it all in.
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