THE ORDEAL
Life reflections and revisions
I
t’s not the air that will kill you—I forgot that in the madness. This world is turbulent. Not only the eddies and gusts for the air but also the pursuit of life and success. However you interpret the winds, the struggles, or the challenges that lie ahead, this perception determines the outcome. How do I perceive paragliding? It is one of the most beautiful arts on this planet at this time in history. I have not considered myself as being an artist, and yet, there is art all around. Some capture it with photog-
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by JEREMY POTTENGER raphy, others with oils and paint, still others by tossing their body, mind, and soul into the void. Paragliding is an art practiced in many different ways by many different people. As I grew to understand this, I forgot the dangers involved. One false step, one wrong move, one ill-timed launch... I write this article not to try and take away from the beauty of the art of free flight, but to bring light to how quickly we can go from being safe and secure in our confidence in this sport to having months or years in recov-
ery or worse. Though there are many ways to end up on the downslope side of this hill, the one good check to perform before each flight is on our mental state. Leading up to my incident, as some have pointed out, I was very turbulent. Turbulent in mind and life. I had lost a very close feathered friend, one of my falcons, and had just fought with another (human) friend. It would be accurate to assume I was utterly overwhelmed in life, business, and the pursuit of happiness.
