Conquered

Levi, confident as all get out, wanted to go to the skate park today. In his new skates. That he's had for barely 24 hours. Not happy with just skating around the edge, he ignored the advice from his dad to not pay attention to the people rolling around like pros. They have had lots of practice in the park, and he shouldn't measure himself to their standard. Nonetheless, he wants to roll down the slope into one of the bowls.

Standing on the edge, I could tell he was aware of the task ahead of him. Staring down the slope, it looks far scarier than when you look at it from over on the safety of the flat surface. He starts down the slide. His feet moving faster and faster. His arms looking to help keep balance, speed increasing and the ground rushing by like a rocket. Saving him from the humility of the video, we can guess what happened the first time from the screen grab below.

Bruised but not broken, Levi came back up and surveyed again the skate bowl. Part of him wanted to go home. His tail bone hurt. No doubt. Pointing out that he tackled a steeper part of the slope, and that nothing difficult comes without work, I was able to make him look at that slope again. It's not going to beat him. No piece of concrete is going to overcome this boy. Does it have no idea of what he has already done in his life? This boy is a senior blue belt, never having failed a test. Never failed. Never falter. His body trembling, he neared the edge again. I can say that because when he watches the video, he tells me he was trembling. He starts down the hill. It looks the same, arms struggling to keep balance. Ever fast down the hill, speeding down, into the unknown. And the boom. Like a boss he skates out of it. He keeps his balance, and does a victory lap around the bowl.

It may be strange for a grown up to be inspired by a 9 year old but that is what I am. His heart beating fast, his body trembling, he looked at that slope and said "hey bud, let's party." OK, reference to an 80's movie there for levity. But I really mean it. If a boy can stare down a hill facing certain tail bone damage and make the leap anyway, in his mind thinking anything could happen, and do it anyway, what excuse do the rest of us have for being afraid of what are quite mundane fears? Jump into the unknown. The glee that you experience when you come out the other side will never get old. Indeed, it is the very thing that tells us we are alive.