Parachutes

This week, when I plugged in the Random Word Generator, despite multiple refreshes, nothing was grabbing me. So, when the word Parachute popped up on screen for a second time, I took it as a sign that this week’s word was coming in. Let’s see where it lands.

Parachute

A cloth canopy allowing a slow descent

To drop from an aircraft

To appoint outside help

What comes to mind?

Drifting through the sky. Heavy objects; soft landings. A safety net. In case of emergency. Those little parachute toy soldiers. That Coldplay album. Some words in my Notes app, about a cloud that looked like a parachute drifting through the pink end-of-November sky.

I wonder what it’s like to jump from the sky.

Apparently, less than 1% of the population have done it.

I send a voice note to my friend to ask her what it’s like.

She says, she remembers being apprehensive, rather than terrified; she was only young at the time. She says she’d be scared now, would think of her family. She says it was surreal and incomprehensible training for something that you don’t yet know. Going last in the group was the worst. One minute they were all there, the next, one by one, gone. And when it’s your turn, you hang off the edge of the plane, tethered by your feet tucked under a step, looking down at the sphericalness of the Earth, strapped to the tummy of your tandem, and you wait for the photographer to get in position. Go. You fall. Headfirst towards the ground. The fastest, noisiest, wtf. Your face flapping in the wind until they pull the cord and you finish your descent by serenely floating down into land where you’re hit by the excitement that you can’t believe you’ve done it.

Where might this week’s word take you?

Most of us will never do a parachute jump. We’ve probably all overcome a challenge or two, though, that’s either been forced upon us or that we’ve chosen to do. Think of one. Spend a few minutes writing about how you felt before and after, how you prepared for it and how you resourced yourself, and what you learnt about yourself from overcoming the challenge. 

As always, we love to see what you come up with, if you’d like to share. And if you’d like to share it in our weekly Note and Journal, please send it to me.

Image: Person paragliding near a mountain. Dave Hoefler via Unsplash