She remembers that day as if it was yesterday…the first time her fear and courage dueled.
She was standing at the bottom of the ladder of the high dive at the pool.
From where she stood that ladder seemed to ascend way off into the sky…
“I don’t think I can do this, Mommy!” She said. “This ladder’s much too high.”
Her mother smiled as she looked up then said, “Not to worry, dear.”
“It’s just a simple matter of overcoming fear.”
“It’s up to you,” she continued, “to decide whether or not this ladder you will climb. But I can tell you, from experience, the ladder will seem shorter if you take it one step at a time.”
“Often times in life,” she said, “if you choose to face your fear…you’ll find the ladders you’re confronting aren’t as tall as they appear.”
She smiles remembering how her mom was like that…ready with advice…sometimes profound…urging her to climb the ladders…while her two feet stayed safe upon the ground.
She remembers how, with her mom’s support that day, her courage won the duel…how she climbed to the top of that ladder and dove into the pool.
And it’s these words from her mom she always remembers anytime she wonders if the next ladder is as high as it first seems:
If your heart is filled with doubt and fear…
there’s no room for your dreams.
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