Dating Is Like Skydiving

Give me a chance. I do have a point so just hear me out.

It’s only an idea because I haven’t really experienced skydiving. I’ve seen footages of it, though. I’m sure you have, too. Anyway, I’m going to try to describe and speculate on what happens when you engage in such an activity.

I reckon you’ll go through theoretical lectures and some sort of simulation before the actual jump. It’s part of the preparation so you’ll know what to expect. I guess, instructors will do some troubleshooting sessions so you’ll know how to handle certain situations that may arise. All in the spirit of safety.

Safety?! Skydiving is safe?! Gah.

Anyway, join me as I try to picture when the actual time comes that you’re scheduled to jump off a plane that’s cruising at an altitude of 10,000 kms [or higher perhaps] from the ground.

Your hands get clammy at the thought, probably shaking while you do your best to put on the harness that will hold the chute, which is vital to your landing safely and in one piece. You check it. Double check it. And even triple check it.

You try to laugh it off — the idea of what you are about to do. You’re probably terrified and excited at the same time. But still you feel safe since you’re just boarding the plane. And you can still feel the ground underneath your feet. You’ll probably kid around with the instructors and other jumpers while the plane’s taxiing on the runway.

You’ll probably forget about your fear for a bit while the plane takes off and you begin to feel the excitement. Well, up until that moment when they open the doors and the instructors start to shout out last minute instructions. It’s time to jump!

You stand up and inch towards the door with a mixture of renewed terror and excitement when you see how far up you are. All the possible worst things that can happen will come rushing into your head that you’ll actually begin to question your sanity.

Peeking into your thoughts, we’ll probably hear you screaming something like this: “What the hell am I doing? What if my chute doesn’t open? What if it doesn’t open in time? 10,000 friggin’ kms.? Do I really need to do this? Is this worth it? What if I die? OMIGOD!!!”

But you then jump. You experience the exhilirating ride of your life. You’re falling at an unbelievable speed. You have a choice of shutting your eyes or keeping them wide open so you see that you’re literally between the sky and the ground. You’ll realise that there’s nothing that can stop you’re fall and nothing to catch you when you reach land. You’re in a situation that you can’t possibly control. You’ll be resigned to hold on to what your instructors taught you and to one comforting thought — that you have the chute to help you land safely.

If you learn to trust in that assurance, you’ll be able to enjoy the experience. Every second of it. Then you’ll reach a point when you’ll just float. Well, okay — glide safely to the ground. And you’ll finally realise that it was silly of you to have spent those initial moments worrying when everything turned out alright. In fact, everything turned out amazingly wonderful!

So, when you land you’ll just want to lie there and marvel at what you have just experienced. You couldn’t probably stop grinning or even laughing and think that it’s incredible and you can’t wait to do it again.

Now, just think that dating is somewhat similar to skydiving. And the assurance you can hold on to is the fact that it will not kill you. Seriously. So worrying about the negative things that you think might happen will just suck the fun out of it and you might miss the opportunity to experience what may just make your life richer and a bit more beautiful.

Of course, this is only in theory. Hehehe. But it’s a good thought, right? So, think about it.