A wonderful song from another era, another time. But I think of the trapeze artist whenever there is change in the wind, like now when so many businesses have been forced to rethink assumptions, reengineer systems and reimagine their place in the world. How do you let go of the past and grab hold of an uncertain or untested future?
Think of the trapeze. Merrily swinging along. I really like it up here. I'm swinging!
Then I see another swing coming toward me from the other side. The other side where I want to be. I'm guessing if I time it just right, I can move seamlessly from this swing to the next one. I take into account depth perception, the laws of physics, all of the known variables.
Uh oh. I can't reach the swing I want, without letting go of the swing I'm on. If I actually could grab the next swing while holding on to this one, it would tear me apart.
So there comes a mid-air moment, between letting go and grabbing hold. That 'leap of faith' moment, where you need to trust and believe in yourself without hesitation and without a net. Especially when you are attempting to do what a normal person would consider impossible.
The noise from circus crowd disappears. Time slows to nanoseconds. You have to go down to the zero, the little red dot, the core, the center. We could be making a graceful, balletic leap - or a hideous-to-behold, frantic, flailing spasm. There is no sense of how, there is only focus on the bar. Let go. Fly. Grab hold.
Now take a deep breath and keep swinging.
Comments