Last time I wrote about the morning half of our outbound training. Anyhow, the evening part was the most remarkable part of my day. After lunch, we were taken to a bridge, which is about 30 feet in height. I don't exactly know the distance but I must say it was extremely high and scary.
"We are not going to jump down right?"
It was my first question and the trainer said, "Yes we are going to jump down".
We all had the fear of heights, acrophobia. 😫 The trainer started to describe what we are going to do next and also he explained about the safety arrangements we were given. Actually, I didn't hear any. My whole focus oscillated between the edge of the bridge and the river.
My time arrived!
I must say, the trainer and lifeguards encourage me and my friend a lot. After my friend climbed down, I decided to take my turn. At least I was brave to take that decision. I realized that, waiting causes further stress and it can make me weak. So I said "I will do next and please dress me up".
I had to wear a safety helmet, gloves, and harness. Then they buckled up multiple anchors. They guaranteed that nothing will happen as full control is in their hand if something happen. This is a moment we trust ourselves more than everyone.
The scariest part was the part where we stand at the edge of the bridge. They asked to spread the legs and then hold two ropes using hands. This was the moment most emotionally difficult for everyone. We have to hold the breaking rope from right hand and the other rope from the left hand which helps you to move down.
Finally, they instruct me to remove my feet from the bridge. Oh gosh!
Anyway, I released my feet, and automatically my hands worked correctly to climb down the bridge. "Oh, what nice scenery!" I felt so relaxed on the way but still had a little fear. I didn't look down to avoid my fear of heights. I saw tall greeny treetops on the way, and it helped me to calm down.
At the middle of the way, they asked me to stop and pose to a photo. "Seriously...!" The cameraman took multiple photos and again I started my journey to go down. I think it took less than 60 seconds to descend down but 5 min to push me down from the bridge.😂
When it was close to the bottom, my head again filled with blood 😊. That's where I got a real smile to my face. "I am free again!"
I learned so many lessons from this activity. First, there is nothing you can't if you are willing to do something. The most difficult thing is gaining "willingness" not the "ability". Willingness comes from bottom of our heart with self-confidence and trustworthiness. Inner personality also causes this. There are people you can easily lead into something and there are some you can't. In the next day maybe I will be volunteering to do this. Anyway, I love the feeling I had on the way. It's like a dream! Sincerely I am proud of myself now 😀
This trip was one of the most dangerous and fun trips I have ever done. But the final output of the trip was really amazing. If you love to have dangerous and exacting trips, you should try Lankagama Training when you come to SL.