Standing on a solid platform of steel, my body may finally relax from the conscious consideration of falling from the crane. We slid down wires, walked along cylindrical pipe with greasy boots and along 3 inch edge, 80 ft above the deck. The notion of falling must remain realistic, but positive thinking floods the mind, reminded by a safety line of your security. None the less, they are tense moments for the mind and body, already beat down by sun and labor.
With my face over the rail, the wind whips my hair into waves, filling my ears with the sound of a thundering heard of buffalo. When I close my eyes, I’m transported to a dusty plain, where these animals come stampeding inches from my body in all their glory. A spritz of sea water reminds me of my reality. My tongue takes a quick lick to quench its curiosity. In these dark moment, standing alone under the stars, live can be as quiet as possible or it can drown your mind with agony. I chose to find the simple joys and beauties of each moment for there are far worse alternatives. Why would one make any situation less enjoyable than it could be? Lost in imagination is a far greater alternative than being lost in reality. The mind is strong enough to escape the confines of the physical body, allocating a utopia in which it may relish its own workings.
I snap back to reality just in time to see a satellite float across the night sky, north to south. My mind could easily join its adventures, curious of the lives it is affecting, but for now I’ll just absorb the violent breeze of wind on my sun burned flesh.