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Thursday 9 January 2020

Higher



The man with the buggy wriggles his way into the crowded lift as we all shuffle backwards. The door closes, and in less than a second, we are on our way up. With nothing but the sound of mechanical whirring to mask an uncomfortable silence, I casually glance through the glass wall to the shoppers below before snapping my head back.
Ping – third floor.
The man with the buggy disappears, followed by a couple laden with bags. I watch the door slide across once more and feel the familiar glide upwards. By the time we reach the mall observation area, the lift is almost empty.
Ping – sixth floor.
I step out into the glass canopy and feel the beginnings of fear swirling in my throat. Gripping onto the metal handrail that snakes around the wall, I slowly ascend the narrow stone steps one at a time as my heart pounds inside its chest. Heights have never been my thing. Yet here I was, at the start of a new decade, with a new challenge.
When I finally reach the transparent edge, I take a deep breath and look out over the horizon. Dark, grey clouds kiss the top of the mountains in the distance and my eyes fix on the bright yellow cranes that once brought the Titanic to life.
Then a thought occurs to me: within a decade, we can experience so many things; some exhilarating, some thought-provoking, some challenging. And sometimes fear will pop up just long enough to hold us back. But if we stop for just one second and take a peek into the darkness, we might just realise that we are brighter and braver than we ever thought possible.