How do you step from the top of a 100-foot pole?

Well, you certainly don’t step from a pole that high… you close your eyes and jump I’d say.

Having ventured up the pole that far… you certainly didn’t do it in vain to begin with. You had some goal to achieve… some sort of plan of action. So its difficult to fathom why anyone would climb a 100-foot pole to simply what?... just climb down again? or just because? I would certainly think not. Something motivated you … something either waited for you at the top of that pole or most likely beyond. So whatever the reason… you’ve come this far… you don’t need to look down or meticulously strategize that next step… just take it.

I believe that everything in life happens for a reason. Often that reason may not be clear at the time… but somehow down the line… the light bulb flickers. Many situations often just don’t make any sense at all. I think that too often we envision a future or outcome and do everything in our power to attempt to control that outcome. When things don’t exactly go our way… we feel lost, confused, cheated by fate. And this because things are not exactly going according to THE PLAN.

In my humble experience with life, I’ve learnt that the future almost never turns out the way I envision. I may come close… yet still it’s not exactly what I had in mind. So the unexpected crops up, hits you like ton of bricks…. “this was not part of the plan… jeez what now?... forget it all?... start new?

I’ve learnt that there are things in my life I can certainly control and then there’s the unexpected I never even thought of. So instead of fretting about the “what now?” or thinking about how to fix a mess… maybe it’s a matter of relinquishing control… and taking the road less travelled. Letting go and let life take its course… and this I think is the hard part. We’re stubborn and set in our ways and think we can control almost every aspect of our lives. Well… newsflash… it’s never been that way and never will be. When faced with some adversity we could be fooled into thinking it’s the end of it all. Yet somehow we always make it through with new experiences and challenges along the road.

So… to step from that 100-foot pole we need to put our faith in the unknown… jump and the net will appear.

(Picture courtesy of http://www.chrisduel.com/LeaperFire.jpg)