swinging like Tarzan

Spiritual resource to share: living fearlessly

It seems that many of life's challenges are about overcoming fear by letting go of those fears. When you let go of the fear, you open your eyes to what already exists - freedom, peace, grace and full joy. And you find that you can trust God, who is the source of all Life.

I had a wonderful reminder of this a few months ago while on a family adventure in Costa Rica. It was easy for my sons to talk me into doing another zipline tour of the Cloud Forest. Costa Rica is stunningly beautiful and to be able to soar over the jungle and steep grasslands is simply awesome! And I didn't mind the steep short hikes to get to the launching platforms where one gets locked into a pulley system before zipping down a cable that slices through the lush forests or zings high above the land and waterfalls.

But, on this trip, there was something called the Tarzan swing, and that was another story. You are still tied onto a cable, but you have to simply step off the platform into - nothing! I could do all the ziplines, but my knees were protesting the Tarzan swing. As I approached the drop off point, I couldn't move.

I decided not to do it. I confessed to the guide, thinking I would have a sympathetic ear, someone who would understand why I couldn't go ahead with this and let me go back with the others who elected not to do this event.

"This one is a little hard for me." I said quietly so as not to embarass myself in front of those who decided to do it. "You see, I am a little bit nervous ...." The guide leaned over and interrupted me, ".....so am I....." he said, and gently, but firmly, nudged me off the platform!

The rest of the group laughed. I screamed. And then, I flew!! Swinging down deep into a valley then swinging up to almost touching treetops, I could hear my sons and others laughing and cheering. I let out a perfectly articulated Tarzan yell.

Life is good.

Letting go of a limited perspective shows you how limitless life is. We can trust Life to be self-sustaining, self-correcting, joyous and eternal. All we need sometimes is that little bit of encouragement to take that first step out of a fear-based type of thinking to soar over problems and challenges and to experience the adventure of the Life that is God's.

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.