This is a quote from a birthday card I got this year. And, after recently attending a performance by the amazing youth performing arts center, Circus Juventas, I realize more and more how this is true. And how our attitude makes all the difference.

As I watched these performers fly through the air, I sat with anticipation and anxiety. Will they catch each other? Will they make it? I was tense. Probably an OK state for me to be in as I was on the ground ... but the daredevils? High, high above the popcorn-littered floor? Tense was not an option. They all hung, swung and flew in complete ease and trust ... loose and languid ... focused and free. They knew, if they tensed up or held back, a disaster could happen. (Or at least a semi-embarrassing fall to the safety net.)

They all knew that life truly was happening right that very moment ... and they dove in. Literally. And that's what made all the difference.