Today I experienced skydiving for the first time. Spoiler alert: I loved it!  But this post isn’t really about skydiving. I’d like to use this opportunity to check in on my word of the year for this year and for 2015.

In 2015 I focused on mindfulness. My skydiving adventure today was all about being mindful, living in the present, and enjoying each moment as it came. For the two-hour wait before our jump, I had no phone so I was disconnected and able to enjoy time with my family, watching other jumpers appear out of the sky before us. Throughout the entire plane ride up, I focused on enjoying each moment: from the silly nervous joking in the cramped plane, to the amazing ocean views, to the excitement building.  Once I got out of the plane and past the first three-second free fall, I was mindful of each gust of air, each move of my guide, those great ocean views again, the clouds around us, and the incredible feeling of flying, free from everything.

I didn’t know that skydiving would be a lesson on the value of mindfulness, but I’m grateful for the reminder.

My word of 2018 is Possibility and the supporting phrase to guide me is adventures that stretch. I think skydiving definitely qualifies as an adventure that stretched me out of my comfort zone.  And isn’t that the purpose of picking these focus words? To challenge myself (2017 word!), to help me grow, to learn and change and evolve.

To experience this with my brother, who had been skydiving two times before, and my 75-year old father, was an adventure that I wouldn’t have thought possible a decade ago. I’m so grateful for this day of family, mindfulness, adventure, and the spirit of possibility all around.

My dad, brother, and I before the big jump! Photo credit: Holly, my stepmom

Will Smith has a great skydiving story about not letting fear take over our lives. You can see his story here.  One of my favorite quotes of his is:

“The point of maximum danger is the point of minimum fear. It’s bliss!”