Trust Your Equipment, Soulmate Seeker

I was mid-air in the middle of a cavern underneath the ground that is bigger than the Statue of Liberty (165 feet tall). Stalactites and stalagmites surrounded me, lit up by strategically placed lights in an otherwise dark space. Hanging by what seemed a thread (but was really a solid harness, ropes, and carabiners), I was sweating in the cool and damp cave.

I was on my annual “Father-Daughter Bonding Trip” with my dad. I had always dreamed of rappelling into a cave and here I was! As I rappelled down deeper and deeper into the cavern, my dad was at the bottom already with our guide calling up to me with encouraging words.

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Then suddenly, I got stuck. The carabiner wouldn’t release the rope so I couldn’t keep moving down into the cave- or so it seemed. The more I struggled, the more I stayed put, just hanging in the air, getting sweatier and sweatier and more nervous by the moment.

My dad and our guide were trying to help me, but nothing seemed to work to get me moving again. And after a few frustrating minutes like that, I’ll never forget the words that my dad yelled up to me at that changed my life in that moment and forevermore: “Trust your equipment, Lara…. and just lean back, so the equipment can work!”

You see, the way to slowly release the rope and keep going down is to lean back and then the carabiner would release the rope. In other words, the more I literally let go of my own “better ideas”…. and just leaned back, I could easily glide down to the bottom in victory! And that’s just what I did.

So why am I sharing this with you? Two reasons:

First of all, it was fun, but before that… I got excited… and I went for it.

What gets you excited? Sometimes (many times) women tell me they can’t get too excited about attracting soulmate love because “all the good ones are taken” or “guys only want one thing, and it’s not a soulmate relationship” or other things that I know isn’t the truth about the type of quality man that you want to attract.

Second, be careful who is “helping” you. I was afraid, I got stuck, and I listened to encouraging words from my dad (he was an expert rappeller from his days in the Army) and most importantly – from the expert who was there dedicated to helping me have a great experience.

This is such an important point – learn from teacher/mentor/guides who have done what you want to do. I wouldn’t learn how to rappel down a cave from someone who’s never done it before, was afraid of caves, or who was a rookie just like me. The expert and the equipment should be fully trustworthy, solid, and proven based on experience.

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So get excited, don’t give up if you get stuck, and for goodness’s sake – get some help or you may be hanging there far longer than is comfortable when a little leaning back, chilling out, and trusting your equipment with expert guidance might actually help you have some fun- and get what you really want!

Here’s to you living the life of your dreams,
Lara