The Good Friend &The Trapeze

Good friends are amazing. I was feeling nervous about an upcoming life change, hesitating on making a choice that seemed frightening, but could make a huge difference in my life. As I stood paralyzed, my good friend gave me an except from The Book of Essenes that compared such life changes and the fear that accompanies them to a series of trapezes. You are content as you swing along on the trapeze you know, so you hesitate on making the leap to the empty trapeze when it appears in front of you, not sure if the new trapeze is a figment of your imagination and certainly terrified of that space in between. In this transition point, you may free fall, but you most certainly grow. My friend was devastated that my choice might put physical distance between us, but she has been in the very same spot herself years ago, and was familiar with the growth such a leap could bring. She “leaned in” and reaped the benefits of doing so, and encouraged me to do the same. Through her tears of separation, she convinced me that Now is my time and I should certainly leap onto the trapeze presented to me and ride it onto the next phase on my life. She made me feel more confident and certain that the path presented is the one I should take. 
So I’m taking that trapeze. And though a little distance may separate me from my good friend whom I am convinced is my twin born 20 years earlier, I’m going to smile as I do it and make sure I have lots of frequent flier miles and minutes on my cell phone plan. 
She told me that someone had the same talk with her when she was faced with the same decision, and that stuck. Her talk with me was paying it forward. Not only did she encourage me to not let my chance pass by playing it safe, she left me with the responsibility of bring someone else’s mentor and friend when they need it, when their time comes.