I wish there was a way to make everyone see that life is meant to be lived on a high wire. You may think, “Oh no, that’s not for me. Down here on the ground where it is comfortable is best.”

I contest that you have not given yourself the chance to try it. The chance to feel that you’re flying. There is a thrill that comes with the balancing act. Showing yourself that you can move with how the wire sways when the wind picks up. Showing yourself that there is nothing else that you need beside the strength of your own body, of your own heart.

It is absolutely terrifying. But, oh, how you learn to count on yourself. How beautifully you learn to hold your head up against the odds.

Of course you fall. You fall and you fall and you fall. That is where the learning comes from. That is where you build your courage. That is where you realize that even falling cannot stop you from the joy of what you love.

It is how you realize that the FALL is nothing. The fall can be overcome. The fall can be undone.

What cannot be undone is never making the attempt at all. Living your entire life on the ground is a slow march toward death.

Have you ever looked up and seen those fearless people up there? Have you ever let your denial, your tricks of the mind, your lies fall away and let yourself acknowledge that you are unsatisfied with this life on the ground? That life on the ground is absolutely killing you?

The people on the high wires are no different than you are. They simply made the choice to climb the ladder and to really try it.

I think there is a misconception about trying. Trying is not *thinking* about doing something. Trying is not *talking* about doing something.

Trying is DOING something. Doing it despite your fear, your doubts, your negative thoughts, what other people think, despite that it seems illogical, despite that it may be weird.

Taking action in the direction of what you really want in life. Picking your feet up one after the other and climbing the ladder. Stepping out onto the wire despite however much you are trembling. Taking deep breaths to calm your nerves. Then walking out there knowing that you are the only thing stopping you from living a life that sets your soul on fire.

You are guaranteed to fall but you are also guaranteed to fly. Both the falling and the flying are what I call living.