Published: February 24, 2016
Life is full of risk. Is skydiving a necessary risk? It depends who you ask, but millions of people around the world will tell you it is.
To us, the rewards outweigh the risks. We won't trivialize the risk of skydiving - it's real and people do injure themselves by partaking in the activity. There are no guarantees in this life. People hurt themselves or even die everyday doing the most mundane activities from driving to work to climbing a ladder. Rather than discuss the merits of skydiving based on risk management, we highlight the rewards and try to answer the question - "Why would anyone jump from a perfectly good airplane?"
Living In The Moment
This may be the top reason people enjoy skydiving - living in the moment. Worries of the future or burdens from the past don't matter during a skydive. Once exiting an aircraft, all is forgotten. You are 100% present and nothing else matters. Sometimes relief from a burden, even if it's for five minutes is a gift.
Freedom
A beautiful aspect of skydiving is the feeling experienced during free fall. Though descending at 120mph, speed isn't felt which gives the sensation of floating as opposed to plummeting. To view the world from above, as if flying like a bird, offers a sense of freedom and perspective seldom felt elsewhere. Furthermore, the freedom felt under a quiet canopy (especially at sunset) might be the most addictive aspect of the sport.
The Community
There's jumping and then there's the community of people who jump. Regardless of occupation, race, color or creed skydiving brings people together that wouldn't normally cross paths in everyday society. To share stories of the amazing jumps made brings people together.
Empowerment
Skydiving is empowering. For those just beginning, it's intimidating and completely nerve-racking! To face fears and overcome them, especially when everyone in your social circle says your crazy, is empowering. If you can skydive and enjoy the experience, what can't you do? NOTHING.
Perspective
It is said that escaping your comfort zone is the first step to living. As a society, we work hard to get ahead and create a comfortable lifestyle for ourselves. In our pursuit of creating that lifestyle, many lose sight that there is a world out there to be experienced. Skydiving opens up the world and demonstrates in 60 seconds that stepping out of our comfort zone and experiencing life is more rewarding then any 'stuff' we might buy to make life more comfortable.
Without risk, skydiving would be no different than an amusement park ride. Part of empowerment is understanding the risk (and fear associated with that risk) and accomplishing the task. With today's technology in skydiving, the rewards far outweigh the risks (in our opinion), but don't take our word for it! Come out and experience it for yourself and let us know if it was worth it!
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