Insanity Keeps Us Sane

For my twenty-first birthday, my friends and I rented a limousine and went bar hopping. I’d tell you about the night but do to extenuating circumstances, i.e. alcohol, I don’t remember much beyond dancing on some tables.  

On the twenty-fifth birthday, we went bungee cord jumping off a hot air balloon. This I do remember as alcohol would not have mixed well here. The crowd below counted down and I leaped off at the shout of “one”!  The ground rushed in quickly and the bungee cord pulled me away.  In between time gravity was lost and I was in unbounded joy.

Skydiving, while attached to an instructor, hit me in for my thirties.  Trust me, there is a good reason for jumping out of a perfectly good airplane—it’s fun!!!  I had the best instructor who followed my silly wishes to spin and spin and spin.  There is nothing else like it on earth; the world below looks like a dollhouse and you get to play all the way down.

Somewhere in my thirties, I rappelled off of a three hundred foot cliff in the jungle beside a waterfall. The guide showed me the thick rope secured to a huge, well-rooted tree in reassurance of my safety. He said that most people were terrified of the drop over the edge. That never affected me, but once over the edge, I was terrified of the thought of slipping and hitting that cliff. At the same time, I was in a state of awe and bliss. Why the combinations of feelings, I don’t know, but I am so thankful I did it.

Forty, I was in the air again on a paraglider attached to an instructor. And again, I was blessed with a crazy instructor who adhered to my request to spin, spin, spin.  We sailed over the beach--almost close enough to feel its spray.  On one side was that ocean that never quits in its beauty of blue, and on the other were multi-million dollar homes to peek at how the other side lives. When we landed, I hugged the instructor and brought in another decade of joy.

Last weekend, my friends took me to a Drag Queen show to celebrate. Men in bling bling costumes flung out crude jokes, wore fabulous dresses and held hairstyles a foot high. The other birthday celebrators and I led the conga line up to the stage for dancing and revelry. Oh, what a night!

Sometimes we all need to break out of our comfort zone and do something crazy.  Sheer fun with friends keeps us sane in a world filled with stress and anxiety. I highly recommend doing something crazy as a natural stress reliever at least once a decade.

Namaste,

Heather Leigh

P.S. DO NOT tell my grandmother anything dangerous that I have done. After the bungee cord episode that I showed her a video of, she kindly requested that I keep my dangerous antics to myself. Thank you!