I love my guests. I learn from them all. My recent conversation with Lya Badgley gave me some insight into a significant transition in my own life.
Briefly, I transitioned from a decade of severe neurologic illness to a decade of wild adventure flying high performance gliders (sailplanes-more here). In a short period of time, my life went from Ground Hog’s Day to Top Gun.
Something that Lya said during the podcast drove it all home for me:
“Choices you’ll make may appear reckless to the people around you and to society. But you’re thinking, I don’t care, right? What’s the worst that can happen? I could die?”
A part of me had died with a decade of dealing with disease. I was no longer afraid of death. And the relinquishment of that fear opened my world to unimaginable adventure flying airplanes (no engine) usually over harsh and un-landable terrain.
Reckless? Perhaps.
Exhilarating? Definitely.
Worthwhile? Oh yes.
I sometimes wonder about my tolerance for risk during this period of my life, as I raced down mountain spines and soared to over 30,000 feet. Was it some sort of denial? Some sort of death wish? Or, as Lya suggests, is it all relative to the circumstances we find ourselves in?
I vote for relativity. Difficult times force you out of your comfort zone. And that’s where you build courage and find possibility. And the possibilities are endless, if you’ll risk the exploration.
Here is a Side Trip, a super short podcast, with some thoughts on it all: