Year of 365

August 28

Adrenaline

It can feel like you're free falling right before you're caught by a rope

Or maybe it feels like the wind around you has been locked in your chest like a prize in a box

Or even the swell of a wave out at sea tumbling around your heart

It feels like your lungs are constricting, almost in panic

And for a second, you think that you won't be able to do it

You won't be able to take the step off of the platform that will send you plummeting toward earth

You won't take the jump off of the ledge that will lead you to hurtling across the tops of the trees

You won't be able to jump out of the plane for fear of a failed parachute

You won't step into the giant metal cage that is about to be lowered into the ocean

But after the second, the pounding of your heart wins out

A smile stretches across your face as your body starts to tingle

It feels like you've been electrified, with nothing but excitement in your veins

Thriving on the feeling, you take that step

You take that dare

And before you know it

You're outside of the plane with your friends, hurtling at top speeds toward the Earth's crust, your trust in nothing more than a piece of reinforced fabric to slow your fall

Suddenly you're in the water, surrounded by thick metal bars and beyond that, you can see the shapes of the sharks as they cut through the water

The wind rushes through your hair as you take a leap off of the wood, and you feel as if you could touch the trees beneath your fingers

You're falling off of the platform and allowing yourself to freefall toward the Earth, hoping and praying that the rope attached to you won't snap from one use too many

But as you're caught

And you realize your safe

You can feel your heart pounding in your chest

Your lungs and throat are tight

Not from fear or panic

But from the sheer joy and adrenaline that came from your daring act

Swimming with sharks

Skydiving

A zipline across the tops of trees or through a valley in the mountains

Riding on a raft down class four rapids

Performing daring stunts in a metal death trap

There's something about these things that sends a thrill down our spine

And I think this is what it means to live

Feeling the excitement in everything you do

Even if it's only for a fleeing second

I've had my fair share of adrenaline in my lifetime

And even now, as I'm writing this

I feel the pounding of my heart

The clamp around my chest

And I feel ready to go cliff diving

I feel ready to surf on the biggest waves in the world

I feel ready to participate in a car race

And most importantly, I feel ready to take on the world