Gravity

In the spring of 2009, a few months before getting married, without telling anyone, and with very little planning, I got into my car and started to drive to Abbotsford. On the way, I called my then friend (and now brother-in-law) to ask if he was busy. He said he wasn’t and so I inquired if he’d like to join me to go skydiving. He laughed and asked when and I let him know that I was already on my way. He was up for it and so we went and, wow, what an experience it was. Together with our instructors, we got into the smallest plane in which I’d ever been. Slowly but surely, it started to climb and the view was becoming ever more breathtaking as we rose. At a height of 3KM from the earth’s surface, we chose to take the leap and dove back down, falling faster and faster, reaching 200km/h in free fall.

The experience made me realize, upon later reflection, something I couldn’t have predicted, in how similar of an experience it was with controlling the 5 major vices (lust, anger, greed, emotional attachment, ego). When you’re on the ground and amongst all the vices, or gravity in this metaphor, you don’t feel its force acting on you at all times. When you decide that you want to break free, unless you’re Superman, you need a vehicle to help you escape. As you elevate, your view becomes much greater. If you decide you want to take a break from your vehicle, though, you’re not floating; you’re going nowhere but down. And once you allow gravity to take its hold back on you, you’re accelerating at 9.8m/s every second. What’s beautiful about this reality, though, is you can re-enter your vehicle at any point and continue your journey.