In the remarkable movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones, played brilliantly by Harrison Ford actively and in his usual frenzied fashion, pursues the Holy Grail, a chalice purported to have been used by Jesus at the Last Supper. Through the usual trials and travails, Indy is chased by what appears at times to be the entire Nazi army, various ghosts and goblins, as well as the usual cast of nefarious evil-doers from around the globe. Somehow surviving, often by the most miraculous of happenings, Indy finally reaches his destination; the secret hiding place of the Holy Grail. Alas, the Grail is located in yet another building and room, with a vast distance separating Indy from his long sought-after goal.
With the army of evil-doers closing in from behind, literally racing up the stairs behind him, Indy faces a dilemma. There appears to be no possible way to reach the cup, except to jump, but Indy almost certainly faces certain death as he cannot jump far enough to reach the room; yet, right behind him is that angry horde, intent on preventing Indy from reaching the Holy Grail. What is Indy to do? Jump to his almost certain death or be captured and almost certainly killed by his evil pursuers? Indy chooses the former, and, remembering something he had read earlier, takes a leap of faith toward the chalice. Of course, as he leaps and begins to fall, an invisible staircase suddenly appears in the mist and Indy is able to climb those stairs to reach the room that contains the Holy Grail. (Of course, Indy’s troubles continue once he is in that room, but, to not spoil the ending if you have not seen the movie, I will not reveal the outcome at this time.) Rather, let’s concentrate on the “Leap of Faith” that Indy took.
Indy chose to jump, relying on nothing but his faith that the stairs would appear, in spite of the fact that no stair was visible when he chose to leap. Indy trusted completely that there really were stairs out there and his trust was rewarded, right on the spot. He did not die, he lived to complete his quest. Why did Indy leap when almost everyone else would never have attempted or even thought of making that jump? I believe that Indy jumped because his faith was simply so strong, that there was never a doubt in his mind that what he held to be true, was in fact possible, even though all evidence did not support his choice. That leap of faith had to arise from the supreme confidence that he was right and everyone else was wrong, or at least did not have all of the information that Indy possessed. I greatly admired Indy for making that leap just as I admire anyone else who has the courage and utter confidence to trust in their own beliefs so strongly even when that belief seems to go against all logic and all evidence points toward a different conclusion. Truly remarkable!
So, why do we almost always hesitate to take that leap of faith? Why do we instead choose to take the safe road, stay with the herd, stay back, never volunteer, never try something new? It seems to be human nature to avoid risks, to become part of the group, never make waves, never trust our own intuition. No risk, no mistakes, no hurt or harm. Rather we choose to remain firmly planted in place, just like everyone else. And, in the process, we never really live.
It has been said that if your motto is “If at first you do not succeed, try, try again; then you really should never take up sky diving as a hobby.” While that may most certainly be true, it also will firmly plant you right there on the ground,directly where you stand, while others take that leap of faith out of an airplane, thousands of feet in the air. Is that how you really want to live your life?
Only you know if you will take that leap of faith. Only you know what your personal leap has been or will be. All I know is that without truly believing, without truly trusting in what cannot be seen, I will never know the joy of discovering new things, new experiences, new opportunities. I may not see those stairs in the distance, they may, in fact, not really exist at all, but I do know, that if I believe strongly enough that what I know is the correct and proper path, then I will most certainly make that leap of faith. Every time, no doubt about it. Faith in what I cannot yet see, faith in my own abilities and faith in the future. I believe that, no matter what I choose to do, choosing NOT to take that leap, is simply not an option for me. I believe and I know that I will not fall. Take that leap of faith and your stairs will be there to support you. All you have to do is believe.