Well, I would like to report (as some of you already know) that I did it! I took the ultimate plunge. 43 metres high on the Kawarau Bridge, the site of the very first bungy jump ever in Queenstown, New Zealand. After Trey and I left Lily's family holiday home (more to come on the rest of our week in Queenstown in another post) we ventured to the bridge. I figured since I didn't know if we were coming back here ever, I just had to do it or I would regret it forever. Lily and Mark wanted to come to support me, but I just felt like it was something I had to do without a personal crowd of friends.
We arrived and I was still on the fence a little but determined to not let my fear control me. You know, there are many things in ones life that they can make a choice about - whether or not to let it take hold of them and in some cases hold them back from living fully. While Trey and I have both lived very blessed lives, we have individually and as a couple encountered some hurdles and suffered some hardships and missteps. I wanted to prove to myself that I could get through anything, no matter what fears were behind it in my mind. With that, I got on line and paid the money to jump. Once you pay, there are NO REFUNDS! :)
Once you pay, they weigh you and take some personal information. They actually put your weight on your hand in big red marker, which for any woman, I can tell you, just might be the scariest part of the whole process! Ha! They do this so that they can determine the length of the bungy cord. They tell you it is very important that you do not take off any garments or add any once you are weighed before you jump.
Trey and I walked up to the bridge and a woman got us suited up in our harnesses. They had initially told me it might be a half hour before I jumped (just enough time for me to talk myself out of it I thought) but fortunately, I was able to cut in line a bit! LOL I was on line behind 3 people. My heart was racing and the man who went two people ahead of me hesitated during his countdown which I really think is how people psyche themselves out. Once they call your number and bring you on to the platform to strap your legs in you just have to make a pact with yourself that you WILL do it and that you WILL jump on the first countdown and perhaps most importantly, do NOT look down! :)
Number 65! OMG. That's me! Breathe. Trey gives me a kiss before I get my legs strapped together and then heads down to take photos. Breathe. I can do anything. Nothing can stop me. My point person "Rambo" (at least that is what his name tag said) tells me it is "Game On". He grabs my bungy cord and leads me off the platform where they prepped me. Breathe. Just as he takes my rope, a song comes on the sound system. It's U2, "I am not afraid of anything in this world. There is nothing you can throw at me that I haven't already heard. I am just trying to find a decent melody. A song that I can sing in my own company......You've got to stand up straight - carry your own weight.....Don't say that later will be better...." YES! That's it! Carpe Diem! I can do this. I began going on auto-pilot.
Hop Hop Hop out to the end of the plank. I immediately let go of the grips that almost every other person had to have their hands pried off of. "Big jump out," Rambo said. Breathe. "Smile for the camera." Deep breathe. Once in a lifetime. Let's not miss a moment. "4, 3, 2, 1...." JUMP! And I did................................
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! I closed my eyes and jumped out. It felt like I was flying and in that brief moment, I remembered to open my eyes and take it all in. I was totally alone in the best way. What you can't hear on video is me saying, "Oh my God! Life is so beautiful. How blessed are we? YES!" It was a spiritual experience as much as it was an adrenaline rush. And this I remember the most - once my initial fear subsided in the air while falling, I felt happy.....SO happy! I was grinning. Proud of myself but also just overwhelmed by how powerful being free really is. Once you do something like that you realize that jumping off of a bridge is not the only way to feel free, you are just more aware that it is a feeling you want to replicate. How can I re-create that feeling in my every day life? Breathe................
Jocelyn's bungy jump
