"I Believe in Magic."

It's amazing the courage that my children give me. I never in a million years imagined I'd be zip lining through the rain forest in Belize. But, because Hunter wanted to experience it, I wanted to see his thrill first-hand. The best way to do that, was to join him.

Our family vacation showed me many different kinds of courage my son demonstrates. When we went zip lining, he wanted to be the first one in our party to do it. When we had our dolphin encounter, he enthusiastically volunteered to be the first one in our group (it was our family and another family) to meet the dolphins. And when we first arrived on the ship, he made new friends as easily as some of us breathe. With the zip lining, it surprised me that he was willing to go out on a limb, in this case, quite literally, before one of the adults in his life did.  Because he's got such a gentle soul, I sometimes make the same mistake others do, and assume he'd approach risks with some degree of timidity. What I'm starting to realize, is that Hunter is anything but timid.

Watching how Hunter moves through the world, I'm beginning to wonder if courage isn't innate and timidity is something that is learned. As Hunter connected to the zip line and flew over the verdant canopy of the Belize rain forest, he did it while singing "I believe in Magic!" As I connected to the same zip line, I flew over the canopy desperately clutching to my safety lines, silently choking on my terror. The juxtaposition of our behavior was telling and having had time to reflect, it was a profound lesson in how life experience tends to fill us up with fear, losing our capacity for bravery.

I can't help but wonder if all the cautionary tales told about how our world works and how there is danger at every turn doesn't simply stamp our our innate bravery. I know that as I've gotten older, I approach life with caution, carefully scrutinizing every situation for all the "what if" scenarios. What if my being openly gay puts me in harm's way? What if my son is abducted while walking the two blocks between home and school? What if I lose my job because I speak up about inequities or criticize greed-driven policies?

I'm not saying that we should throw caution completely out the window. Hate-crimes and bullying still happen far too often. Child abductions, every parent's worst nightmare still make headlines. And employees often decide to accept diminished compensation and personal job satisfaction because being gainfully employed is more than some folks can say.

What I am saying is that when I safely reached the other side of that first span when zip lining, my terror switched to exhilaration. Initially, I was thrilled simply to have lived. Immediately after that, I was thrilled that I chose risk over fear. My son inspired that. I hope we can continue to create a space for him and for Skye to always embrace life rather than become strangled by fear.