Daredevil Living

I spent the day recently with my cousin and her family. A couple years back, she found out her husband was cheating. Their marriage teetered on the brink of the abyss for over six months, then slowly they worked their way back to each other. Now, they're solid. Granite solid. But when things were coming apart, my cousin declared to herself that life was too short to waste the good days. When you're knee deep in bad, you have new perspective. She decided she was going to go skydiving, something she had always wanted to do but never dared try.

A couple months ago, with her now faithful life partner next in the jump line, she did it. The two of them went skydiving. When I watched their videos, I was filled with awe that she would dare to jump out of a plane at 14,000 feet. She fell at a speed of 120 miles per hour! The picture of her, taken by the company's photographer that documents each jumper's experience, is now her computer desktop wallpaper. Firey sunset colors outline the profile of her body, and her face is the picture of pure, living-in-the-moment joy.

I'm not an adrenalin junkie, but I crave experiences that force me right in the middle of the present. I want my immediate senses hightened, my emotions raw and all about the moment, not the moment before or the one after. So, I've been thinking: What would that experience be, for me?

I've never scuba dived on a coral reef. That comes right to mind. I'm sure there are other ideas if I gave myself more time to think. But, scuba diving would be awesome! Oh, and I want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. And I want to climb over the top of the bridge at Sydney's harbor.....

What about you? If money were no object...what would you dare do?