Come to the Edge he said,
“It’s too far!”
Come to the Edge he said,
“It’s too high!”
Come to the Edge!
They came, he pushed; they flew.
That was Christopher Logue introduction to the world of Guillaume Apollinaire a mid 20th century Cubist, philosopher, poet, and artiste, who had come to London to exhibit his work.
Sometimes in life, people with talent, an ability an exceptional way or wisdom have to be encouraged by the enthusiastic observer to share that talent with a wider audience and raise their bar of performance to another level. We as people can be our own worse critics and can think/feel things about ourselves that other currently in a sphere of influence just don’t see let alone say, and this is especially the case with people who have been brought up in an environment where little was expected of them. It has been well said we are the sum total of the five people we hang around with the most, and if this is true it is not surprising that we can confine ourselves to mediocrity if the consensus of opinion is “we don’t do those sort of things around here” “don’t get too big for your boots” “children should be seen and not heard” and for me worse of all, “who do you think you are!” These are all statements I heard as a young boy growing up in a children’s home in North London surrounded by working class children of parents who for one reason shape or another were considered not responsible enough to nurture the development of their offspring.
Does this resonate with you? Are there dark voices from the past that hold you back, discourage your progress, and limit you to a level of mediocrity or obscurity? Limiting belief is a hard curse to shake off when inculcated from youth and often takes dedicated observing’s eyes and committed desire for relationship building to support the fledgling renaissance man (homo sapien) to the edge of their greatness.
My first big nudge in life was delivered by Sergeant Iain McKenzie a
Military officer who dedicates so much time, effort and expertise into encouraging me into athletics at the tender age of 17, I loved the training and was full of confidence until the day he told me he had put me into my first competition. I was bricking it (colloquial for scared) and really did not want to put myself to the test, I was happy working with McKenzie and performing in my neck of the woods, but enter me he had. It was a regional junior event for military apprentices and boy soldier that would end up at the military stadium in Aldershot at the Army championships 1976 that I went on to win and the rest is well documented in history.
I have to continually remind myself of this experience as I chart new waters and scale new heights. I have become acutely aware that at each epoch of life, when confronted with something new, I have a propensity to hide in the safety and security of what I know and have always done, yet growth comes through appropriating the learning as you pour oneself into the jaws of opportunity. When I recognize this I prod my self with the athletic idiom, “asking for help is a strength and not a weakness” I search for my mentor/coach who will come with me to the edge, which at first seem a step too far, or a bar too high but in the fullness of time I know when pushed I will surely fly.
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