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How Hard Can You Concentrate?

My friend Dustin introduced my to slacklining. I think he got it in Israel when he was playing pro basketball over there. (Figures, 6'9" white Jewish guy right?) This is a great sport and if you you tube this you can find many great videos. I would include links but it seems that no one ever clicks the links I put into my blogs. The rope is made of nylon and is basically constructed like a huge tie-down. The same kind you use for your dirtbikes in the back of the truck. The rope is maybe 2-3 inches wide and slices down the middle of your foot. The rope is wrapped around two sturdy objects a reasonable distance apart and is tightened until you can launch a small child from it 30 feet in the air.

The only way I can do this is to focus into the distance at some unseen point and zone out. i have to concentrate harder than I do most other times in my life. Each step feels like a hike over an ever growing mountain. The middle of the rope is the toughest but if you keep your body balanced the rope mysteriously will not sway as you might think. I need to apply this concentration to other areas of my life. I always describe it to people that are watching me with "…just as you feel you are going to fall, you can hang at that balance point, and you will stay up despite everything you thought you knew about gravity." If you don't think you will fall, then you wont.

One drawback to this sport is the setup of the damn rope, it just doesn't go fast and it is slightly scary ratcheting something to 10,000 pounds of pressure and then having it slip in front of your face.

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