Leap of Faith

By Blake Lindsay

Being a person who’s been totally blind since infancy, the unique condition gives me additional opportunities to challenge and inspire people of all ages to set significant goals and to follow through with their action plan.  Each September, I have the privilege of speaking with a bright group of high school seniors who are together for Camp Enterprise.  This three-day business education development is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dallas.

In 2010, I was finishing my talk with a segment I call “Ask the Blind Guy.” This is my audience’s opportunity to ask me any questions they are curious about regarding what it is like to be totally blind.  I always enjoy these questions, especially from junior high and high school students.  During this occasion, I was asked something which I had never been asked before: “Blake, is there anything you haven’t done on your list of adventures that you want to accomplish?” 

Without thoroughly thinking the inquiry through, I blurted out the first response that came to mind, “Skydiving.”  I stated that this would be an adventure I’ve been fascinated by for many years. After the event I didn’t give skydiving a second thought.

Two weeks later, I received a surprise call from Charles with the Rotary Club of Dallas, stating, “We are sponsoring you to go on a skydiving adventure, so when can you go?”  My first thought was, “Wow! Do I really want to skydive?”  I like to take opportunities as they come, so I responded with a resounding “Yes!” 

Surprisingly, I became more excited and less nervous each day.  As I thought about this somewhat fearful goal of skydiving, I began envisioning how it could help me to inspire people to dive into their goals, and face their fears in life.
     
The day of the special occasion, my friend Glen drove me out to a peaceful and beautiful wooded area he often walked through to record my feelings before this event took place.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning, without a cloud in the sky.  I’ll never forget how much I enjoyed our one-hour drive and visit up to Whitewright, Texas.  Glen and I talked about the meaning of our lives that beautiful morning. It was finally time to climb into the plane, which seated 23 of us, and get ready to jump out of the plane.  I was excited to at last be taking that leap of faith I had thought about a lot over the past two weeks, in anticipation of the unknown.  I was fully alert and attentive as we climbed up to 13,500 feet, and prepared to jump with my instructor, Ernie.

Our jump into the air was like no other feeling I have ever felt before.  For one, the temperature is thirty degrees cooler at 13,500 feet than on the ground.  What had been a balmy 88 degrees was now an exhilarating 58.

We hit the air at around 140 miles per hour, and maintained that momentum as we dropped for sixty seconds.  My instructor, Ernie Long, began performing exhilarating maneuvers, showing me how much control he had in steering us with the sturdy steering strings attached to our parachute.  I got a kick out of quickly turning to the left, then right, followed by moving backwards and forwards.  When we safely landed, all of my friends and spectators applauded.

I can certainly state that this exceptional experience is among my most exciting, and most valuable, in my lifetime to date. Each time I reflect upon the experience it seems I learn another lesson in how to live my life more fully and to inspire others to enjoy the same. I’m more determined than ever to motivate people to be the best they can be in finding joy in life at work, at home and in the community, each and every day.
I want to encourage you to dive into your goals and face those fears and challenges which inevitably come your way in life. Without a doubt, when we dive into our goals and face our challenges, it can resemble my skydiving experience by becoming, “Faith and fun all in one!”