Leap of faith

The other day, I was watching the dance reality show 'Dance India Dance doubles' on Indian television. The show is a dance competition among couples and the episode I was watching included the use of props. One such couple had a cage as their prop. The boy was locked inside the cage and the girl was outside. Their dance included coordinated moves between the two and one such move had the girl getting on top of the cage and jumping off into the outstretched hands of the boy (who is still inside the cage, only his hands are out and he can't see the girl....Similarly, the girl is jumping backwards so can't see if the boy indeed has his hands out to catch her). But jump she did, right into the hands of the boy who caught her perfectly. My heart skipped a beat....I personally think such moves are very dangerous and could go horribly wrong especially since there was no safety net below. The judges while reviewing their performance called the girl's jump ' a leap of faith' ....it literally was one since she jumped with the complete trust that her partner would catch her.

That set me thinking about all the leaps of faith we ourselves make in our lives....relationships, careers, every turn in our life is a leap of faith. When we get into a relationship, we do get into it thinking that it is the right one for us....so a big leap of faith. Sometimes it is the right one and we land perfectly on our feet....but sometimes, it is not and we tumble and fall. And when that happens and the relationship doesn't work for us, I do believe it is time to take another leap of faith and step out of the relationship. What is the point in staying on, if after you have leapt, you are unable to fly as your wings are clipped....no point at all...so unclip the wings, take another leap of faith and start to soar in the skies. Similarly when we change jobs, we trade the known for the unknown....we are not sure if the new job will work for us but we still do it because in our heart of hearts we know it is time for a change and so we take another leap of faith. Every turn in our life is a leap of faith....whom we let into our lives as our friends, whom we let go out of our lives, where we live, where we work, when we buy a house, every life decision is based on the trust that it is the right one for us even though at the time we are making these decisions we have no idea if they are the right ones. But I think leaps of faith are necessary....they keep our lives interesting. If these leaps were not taken....we would not make new meaningful relationships (which complete and enrich our lives), we would not let go of old relationships (which stagnate and smother us), we would stay in the same jobs (which though secure does not challenge us anymore), we would not make new friends (every new meaningful friendship brings about a positive change in us) and our lives would be the same day in and day out. So leaps of faith are necessary....they may not always be right....but they are required as they enrich our lives with the experiences that they leave us with.

Signing off having taken many 'leaps of faith' in the past and this quote by Stephen Schwartz

'Its time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap'