The ride

Have you ever been on a roller coaster?

I know a lot of people are scared of them, I definitely get freaked out before I hop on a little cart on a rickety track. It is so cool though, as soon as I'm in line I go from being scared to being anxious. They aren't the same thing.

Fear keeps us away from things while being anxious gives us that boost to push through.

From the time I get in the seat to when I'm about to go down that first hill my anxious emotions turn into excitement.

Right before the first drop, hands go up, why, who knows.
Maybe because we are so excited we can't control ourselves, maybe it's because of the feeling we get as we go down the hill not holding on to anything.
That's it, the excitement of letting go.

Once we let go, we go down the hill, around a bend, up another.
first time on the ride, everything is new, everything is exciting, scary.
Second or third time on the ride, we think we know what is next, but there are different jolts, different bumps.

The cart slows, comes to a stop, exhale, THAT WAS AWESOME.
We were scared, excited, bruised from our knees hitting the seat in front of us, but at the end of it the ride was amazing.

Every single one of us is on a roller coaster, all the time.
For some they are just walking by, looking at the others, scared to see what it is about.
That is a tragedy.
Some take the walk over, confuse being anxious for being scared and back out at the last minute.
Some are confident, take the walk, stand in line, sit in the seat but turn into scared kids on Halloween when the first drop comes, too afraid to look at what comes next.
Others are curious, scared at first, anxious while on line, excited throughout the ride, even when it is broken by moments of fear.

Ever go into a church?
If you have what did it look like.
Maybe you walked in to a church, heard some song, felt some weird emotion or nervousness. Then you looked around and tons of people had their hands up, reaching towards the sky.
Looks really weird right?
Maybe you've seen it on tv and wondered why these people are insane, I know I have.

Welcome to the roller coaster. What you are seeing is people excited and passionate about the ride they are on. Even if the ride is interrupted by dips, dives, jolts and bumps, they are still excited enough to lift their hands.

This ride doesn't have a height requirement, it doesn't even have seat belts.

It is all about letting go of what is safe, and reaching to the sky because it just seems right...