Fox Glacier City-New Zealand -February, 12th, 2016.
No Fear, no Hesitation, no Doubt.
EMBRACE THE FEAR.
Pictures – skydive and tandem gliding – https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuwEJ-_opc9zg6wJWlKJJsnGecxkgA?e=GqhgSD
– Altitude is everything.It is the primary ingredient of a skydive, the higher the altitude, the longer the free fall,the greater the value.
-I am afraid of heights. Climbing up a high ladder and looking down I tremble. Looking down on a glass bottom on a high building I tremble even more. I am not afraid on Comercial flights, mainly because they serve food, good wine, good whisky, movies, music and when you’re upgraded to business or first class, which I was many times, you are flying in the heaven. And before the flight, those marvelous lounges where you can take shower and have ever better wine.
-There should be nothing in this life that you should be afraid of, if there is you might be do some work to overcome it. On a survey where was ask what people most fear, on the seventh place, was be afraid of snakes, spiders, cockroaches. On the first place was fear of public speaking. On a anniversary party, being ask to say something, most people hide themselves or give a good excuse. Well, there is training for that and also for other fears, because they are in your way of thinking and perceiving the reality. Of course, if you jump in to a lake from a clift , figure out first how deep it is.
-Well, as I am afraid of heights and since I was planing to come to New Zealand, known as the country of radical sports, I said to my self that I would try some activities. I began with sand boarding. Slip down a mountain of sand near a beach, after a tandem para gliding and I flew as a bird. And today , facing the fear, I enroll my self for a skydive ,to jump out a plane on 13000 feet high, 4000 meters , on a tandem jump.
-On the night before I dreamed about a list of six passengers, I was the first with my four letter name in capital letters. Today on arrival I figure out that there were 6 on the plane, 3 jumpers, 3 instructors, plus the pilot. As I was introduced to my fellow instructor, I noticed a different accent and it ends that he is from Brazil( Belém),and also his wife works here on the parachutes.
-By the way, he told that he did more than 1000 jumps to be qualified for the job and gave me total confidence on the adventure. They all carry a second parachute that opens automatically in case of a real pane. The sport is save. Paulo Pinto Silva , and Samira Esperança Pavan is the Brazilian couple that lives and works here. The city of Fox Glacier has 270 inhabitants, one small supermarket( they drive to a nearby city to buy more economically), there is no need to secure the house, there is no need for police force and for example to buy honey, which is a major product in NZ, they pick up the quantity they want and leave the money in a box at the kiosk. The trash is collected in bags and must be paid every time and the money for that is left with the trash and if there is necessity for chance the driver leaves the change. Life passes by here in the old fashion way.
-Back to the jump. At the moment to jump out the plain, when it reaches the 13000 feet, the door is opened and you step out that aircraft door and for some 60 seconds you free fall towards the ground at 200km/hr. I was the first in line, I pushed my feet out and on a banana position, head and feet up, we spin around and begin to descend in high velocity for more than a minute. Pictures will show my face and signs. The sound of the wind is strong. Than the parachute is open and a pushback suddenly happens and a serenity comes out from nowhere and all the views from the sea, from the glaciers, from the clouds,from the field on the ground were in your eyes, there is no time to think about something else. Your mind will get empty if you desire it or not. The 12th of February,2016 will be in my memory because of this achievement.
-In short. I was worried about nothing. Now that I face the fear, I am glad I did it. Fantastic, marvelous, amazing and joyful was the experience. On a sky dive experience I flew like a Eagle , felt powerful and ready for new challenges in all the sectors in my life. Now I believe that the sky is a beginning of a new limit. Now I can imagine the feelings and purpose of the Wright Brothers and Santos Dumont , with his 14 bis and so many others trying to imitate the birds.
-What ever you fear, face it ,head on and defeat it. Weight the odds and than just get on with it. If you hang back the opportunity will have passed. If you spend to long thinking you will never make a move. Once you have had looked at the options, make a choice and go for it. That is the secret. No hesitation means not waiting for other people help you make a decision. No doubt means that once you’ve made a decision, don’t go over it again. Stop thinking and enjoy, relax and let go. Believe in yourself.
-Another interesting fact I figure out is that the Germans and Chinese are the most common travelers here in NZ and also around the world. Specially the Germans, after a close search with fellow travelers, on why they travel so much I concluded. After the first war, when Bismarck lay down the Prussian education system for Germany, they become well talent in industry, commerce, philosophy. Nowadays the new generation of Germans, travel the world because they work hard, they work with intelligence and fast and make good money. So they take long vacations thinking on coming back, work hard again and travel for a long time again. Good thinking and acting.
-After this skydive jump, I am an Eagle with all its symbolism. And definitely I expanded my comfort zone many, many inches.
-But why jump out of a perfectly good aero plane ? Why climb a great mountain that does not know you exist? Why run a marathon? Why play tennis? Deep in the human consciousness is a deep need for a logical universe that make sense . But the real universe is always one step beyond logic. We as humans do these things. It is something deep within our DNA, the need to feed our voracious appetite for danger and glory. It is the spirit of human to conquer and to go to places , to do things we never did before.
-On a skydive adventure there is no such word as try , there is only do or did not do. It takes a certain kind of person to step out of an aircraft at 13000 feet into thin air. The fact that you are attached to very good materials and to a experienced and qualified jump master makes little difference or makes all the difference,
-The personal challenge is immense. The only thing preventing you from enjoying this moment is your mind. Your decision will leave you go through your life and say I did it or go through your life knowing you had the opportunity, but you walk away from becoming a more complete person. On the end , we do not conquer a mountain, the skydive jump, but ourselves.
-As they say here -“If you got the attitude ,we got the altitude.” This adventure was really a further off the beaten track.
-” The fears we don’t face become our limits.” Robin Sharma.
Why? Because everything is a matter of attitude.
Marcos Hans -World traveler – version Fox Glacier 2016
See curriculum. https://www.sejalider.com.br/?p=4243
