Take a “Leap of Faith”
Do you know what I hate the most after two-faced people? STAIRS! I was standing at the base of the stairs leading to the highest slide of the water-park, pondering whether this slide is worth the trouble of climbing the flight of stairs in front of me? Why can’t they have escalators in one of the biggest water-parks in the world? Genius…water splashes everywhere!!?? Nevertheless, I was forced to follow my elder brother and little cousin, who were eager to try the slide termed as ‘one of the scariest slides’. Climbing the stairs took an eternity as midway through the journey I lost my interest and insisted we try the other slides where more people were queuing up and even looked easier along with the prospect of viewing the unique aquarium which the “Leap of Faith” did not offer. However, the two lads alongside me, assumed I am getting scared of the slide as we climbed up the stairs, gaining altitude, and my cousin suggested, “If you are scared or don’t want it, you can go downstairs with Arham”. Although he did not have any ill intentions, this statement pinched me and reluctantly I decided to go along ignoring my body protesting over the fatigue involved in climbing the stairs barefooted, with the Dubai weather ensuring the stairs were similar to the top of a hot frying pan.
When we finally climbed the stairs, the view at the top was mesmerizing. You may be aware of my love for beautiful sights, pretty evident by the fact I run a photography page, and surprisingly I forgot why we even came at the very top. On my right, I could see the whole Atlantis Hotel, the gigantic structure complimented by the sophisticated architecture, was a sight to behold. Since we don’t have such massive structures here in Pakistan, watching the hotel standing tall, expressing arrogance of its beauty felt like one of the most beautiful sights I ever watched. On my left, I could see the whole water park, the vibrant slides, people running to and fro, and the kids hesitating to jump onto rides with fear. I was caught daydreaming by my brother who poked my arm, asking me to stand in the line so we quickly get over with this ride and head towards the next one.
Cousin: I will go first as you guys are new and this doesn’t scare me
Brother: I am not scared. I can go first.
Cousin: No you watch me go first.
For those who know me, I stay indifferent between going first or last and let the two argue amongst themselves on who would have the first try. Eventually, they decided that the cousin (who was the host) would go first, and expectedly I was to be the last one. The queue was fairly long and the closer we got, our excitement changed into anxiety. With just three people standing between us and the slide, my cousin suddenly left the queue and said, “I am not going first. One of you goes first”. The nearly vertical drop of the slide had stricken terror in our hearts as the conviction to have a go on the “Leap of Faith” began to drop like my math grade over the years.
Ever felt like a scapegoat? The feeling is fairly daunting and pisses you off to quite an extent. From being the last one, I was told I got ‘promoted’ to have the honor of being the first one on the slide, swapping places with my cousin. This came along with some emotional blackmailing ranging from, “it isn’t dangerous as look even that guy did it” and “come on you can’t be scared, I am not taking the first spot as I want you to try it first”. Brother if it is so easy and ‘not scary’, why won’t you go first? AGHHHHHH!!!! Nevertheless, I can at least get to brag how the two ‘brave boys’ lost their cool when the real situation arrived. Disappointed, I headed towards the assistant standing next to the entrance of the slide, with the hope that I get to enjoy it more than fearing it.
Left foot on top of the right, arms forming an ‘X’ as my left hand rested on top of my right shoulder and vice versa. The countdown began with a green light to be followed once the red stopped blinking. Despite my best efforts to stay focused, the desperate cries of my brain elaborating on the fear of the unknown, and my heart telling me there’s still time to back out, did mingle with my conviction and determination. Eventually, I gathered my fragmented thoughts and buckled up for the upcoming adventure and chapter of life. The green light finally arrived, and the guard nudged me from behind, the little push proved to be enough as I was heading down the Leap of Faith.
I could not see anything as the water in my eyes blurred my vision, the water entering my ears caused a moment of panic but my feet, after kicking for the last five seconds, finally found the floor and instinctively, I tried my best to stand, escaping the awkward submerged position, eventually breathing in the fresh air, looking at the sunlight beaming down on the crystal clear water. I turned my neck towards the end of the water and saw Arham standing there, a sense of excitement gleaming from his hazel shade eyes. I swam towards him and as soon as I got out, I was bombarded with questions by my little brother who was eager to know how it was, the scary part, other feelings, etc. Before I could start answering the questions, a massive splash in the water announced the arrival of my brother, completing the fairly daunting slide. Moments later, our cousin also joined us and Arham started boosting about how scared they appeared at the end of the slide unlike me.
For me, the slide wasn’t about fear. Honestly, it was magnificently exhilarating. The entire slide from the top to the bottom lasted less than 10 seconds as at a speed of 50 mph, the speed similar to regular off-spinner bowling, I almost flew in the air initially, descending at unimagined speed as the water gushed on my face as I even swallowed some of it. In the two initial seconds, I felt like I was falling to unfavorable outcomes, during which I realized I am powerless in this circumstance, and then I felt the slide left behind, landing into a pool of calm water. My landing was smooth as silk, jubilant at overcoming something I feared, expressed my blissfulness at the fullest, smiling both at my brother and a nearby lifeguard who may be accustomed to seeing this sight a million times each year. However, he smiled back after watching my 28 teeth shining brightly, and gave me a thumbs up.
Moments after this, the world just wasn’t the same for me. The water slide, which was a source of mockery with my cousin’s suggestion that I head back, seemed to be nothing special anymore. It was as if my fear had washed out alongside the slide. In the beginning, it was at its peak and as I went down, the water seemed to carry me away from the fear. I was desperate to do it again, this time to enjoy it but my brother’s persistence that we were short of time compelled me to stop with my insistence. One of the toughest slides in the world was suddenly a walk in the park, but the truth was, it was never that difficult, to begin with. If it had been in my control to deduce facts, the situation wouldn’t have been the same. If there was no information on this slide by google, no anticipation, no fear of the unknown, no queue, nobody backing out, and no scary Mayan temple structure there really wasn’t that much to it. To summarize my viewpoint, without the hype and reputation surrounding the slide, maybe I would’ve treated it as any other slide at the waterpark?
Eventually, I arrived at a fairly relatable conclusion. It may sound funny, but we often fear something only because there is a reputation that it is fearful. Fear is a cultural thing with a trickledown effect, maybe being considered inherited in most cases — whether it is the “Seeti Baba” in our childhood to our perception of demons residing under our beds. It can be seen in the way we treat adventure sports, where the risk is the most important element. I don’t know about others but for me, fear acts as a stimulus, and my first experience of riding a bicycle without supporting wheels can vouch for this claim. It is our fear which makes everything more complicated.
And we must strive to get over our fear. There will be calls inside your heart asking you to turn your back but the surge of adrenaline running through your body acts as a supporting pillar, somewhat similar to a Super Saiyan transformation in “Dragon Ball Z” where the transformation helps them break their previous limits. Fear of relationships, of commitments, of sports, of standing behind a rostrum with the whole school listening to even your whispers, of making a fool out of ourselves, of being judged by the class when one of the brightest students asks the easiest question. However, we must get over our fear of failure, for if we never try, how will we compare if it was doable or not? If I had walked away when my instincts imagined the worse ranging from a severe injury to death, I would’ve spent the whole Umrah (that we later went for) and my classes back at university pondering over the difficulty of the slide itself.
On a lighter note, when we went back home, turns out that our cousin who must be at least 7 or 8 years younger than me (remembering ages isn’t my forte) dared to try it several times. So yeah, I lost my right to flex after realizing she had achieved this feat earlier.
