And yet we fear to leap headfirst. We fear to live fully in the present moment—to be fully human.

The fear of death and of life itself is a fear of our lives being over—our lives being finite and bound by this frail, finite body. The fear of death and of life is also a fear of ourselves growing and expanding. It is a fear of getting old, of getting old and decrepit, to the point where we’ve forgotten how to be fully human.

We fear that life is a zero-sum game, that each day we “take away the next”—that each day we’re going to gain more or lose more, more or lose more. We fear the loss of our freedom. Each day we go through the motions, the routine, the chores. But we’re not who we were, and we’re losing the freedom to who we were. We’re not who we were meant to be. We fear our kids will not like us anymore, and we’re not who we’ve been for our children. We fear this is all we are now—and it’s all we’ll ever be. That every year, every month, we were all the same.

🐎 🧠 😛

And I hear that it’s true for some other families. I hear that there are families in our lives who are growing, who get stronger, who are growing in love, who will always be family. I hear a voice say: “Let us begin our days where we began our days—with the joy of our heart, and the love of our lives. So that one day we may sing and jump rope.” We are not a small number. We are not a far-off galaxy. We are one in a long, long line of people who have gotten where we are right now. We were all once small, just like you. So don't worry and get out your training jump rope!