I love walking my dogs late at night.
We regularly go to the school yard.
Recently I was more focused on catching up to the dogs than paying attention to my footing.
The dog was the goal.
The footing was how I would reach the dog.
En route, I encountered an ice patch.
In shock, I found myself on my ass and winded.
Here is a speculative phenomenology of what happened between standing and falling:
Oh shit. This isn’t good. Was that ice? I’m up. Suspended. At the peak. I feel weightless.
Now I feel heavy.
Now I feel pain.
Falling can be confusing and disorienting experience. The moment of suspension when falling is a lot like the feeling you have just as you’re about to take flight.
As any of us attempt to launch into a new endeavour, we risk falling. We risk failure. We risk pain.
And?
It’s like the old saying goes
You’re just as likely to break your neck walking dogs in a school yard at night. You might as well fall doing something interesting.
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