Empowered by a Ropes Course

One of the activities we could do at camp was a ropes course. I'm not sure why they call it a ropes course, because if you've ever done one you know you are walking on wires. When mister "T" did it with his group we went and took pictures.
I thought he'd be a little scared. I was scared for him, but he didn't hesitate one bit and was like a little squirrel scampering right up and across it like nothing.
A couple days later the "husbird" and I decided to try it despite a little trepidation on my part and the fact that I was still recovering from an awful cold.
Since I workout on a regular basis, lifting weights, I thought it wouldn't be too hard. Wrong.
The hardest part was the beginning where you have to climb up a swinging wooden pole and then wall to get to the top of the course. Even though I had all the harness gear on I still felt like if I didn't get to the next foot hold I would fall to my sudden death.
About halfway up one of my legs would not stop shaking. I kept telling myself "You're alright. You're alright." Some how that wasn't computing to my body, possibly maybe because I was taking my life in my hands. Thankfully after my leg quit shaking I made it to the top. I looked at the wires I was about to cross and thought, "I'm going to cross that? And get around those trees? What am I doing?" My first couple of steps were really scary, until I got a feel for the way the wire would sway. Repelling down was the fun part.
I made it down alive and the whole experience made me think about how this course is so much like real life. Starting something new is always hard in the beginning, but as you get used to it it becomes easier and can even be fun when you let go and try to enjoy the journey. At the end of the course I felt stronger and happier because I accomplished something hard.