When we make a decision we become responsible

Many years ago I did a Bungy Jump, my lower legs firmly tied together by a large elastic rope as I plunged headfirst off a platform 150 m above water.

I did the perfect Bungy. Arms spread out, launching into space.

I was terrified. 

I had taken a friend to do the Bungy jump and at the time did not have any intentions of jumping myself.

I sat watching as people went up the tower. I watched as the majority hesitated, sometimes for up to twenty minutes. Many came back down, unjumped. 

I thought about the agony of deciding, from 150 metres, whether to jump or not. About the paralysis that takes over. 

When I decided to Bungy myself I made a commitment, on the ground, before I purchased the ticket. I would jump the very first time the instructor counted down. And I would jump as if I knew what to do, arms wide, not a care in the world.

And so I did. 

Risk is everywhere. It can diminish us or liberate us. We do not always make the right choice. 

I had examined the risks. I felt that my safety was really not an issue. It was only my fear. 

Having made the decision, which included NOT perpetuating the fear when I was supposed to be jumping, I told my screaming mind that it was not going to prevent me from launching.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Bungy! I chose. I jumped. 

How often do we examine the potential consequences of our actions before we take them? How often do we determine that the precessional effects are worthy of our risk-taking? Or not? 

When we make a decision we become responsible, regardless of whether we have deeply considered the decision in advance.

If you choose to jump, be responsible. *Anything else relinquishes your sovereign power of choice to another actor, and you become the victim. 

*this applies to adults and people with cognitive capacity

Photo taken October 3rd 2021