There we were at Poin in Panama City. A few days earlier, I hadn’t even heard of “urban ziplining,” and now somehow, at age 59, I was doing it.

As we stepped out of the elevator onto the 38th floor, my heart started beating faster. I could feel it thumping in my chest as we inched toward the balcony railing.

For some reason, I looked down. Big mistake. I immediately recoiled, and as I watched the cars moving along the highway, I marveled at how small they looked, like a brigade of tiny ants.

“Roy, I can’t do this,” I said. 

Roy looked squarely into my eyes and in a slow, steady tone replied. “You can. You know you can.”

I knew he was probably right (he always is), so I took his hand, and we moved toward the stairs, where a man was waiting with protective gear: harnesses and helmets. Then up the stairs we climbed. 

When we finally arrived at the zipline launch platform, I eyed the man who was holding the zipline hook and thought, I’m sure he’s done this hundreds of times. Somehow that felt comforting.

He worked quickly and silently, snapping my harness onto the zipline tether. He then motioned for me to grab onto the handles.  

“Lean back,” he finally said.

As soon as I did this, I could feel him place his hands on the small of my back and then “Whoosh!” He propelled me forward.

“Zzzzzzz.“ The whir of the zipline drowned out all other noises. I noticed a cool breeze on my face.

Once airborne, I smiled. Grinned widely, actually. I looked down and then across at the other skyscraper in my path—my destination—and as it came closer, I found myself desperately wanting the ride to last longer. The rush was intoxicating.

As I approached the building, I felt the brake grab, and my feet finally hit the platform.

“That was amazing!” I said to the three men standing on the platform. They smiled as they unhooked my harness and started chatting with me.

A few minutes later, Roy came whizzing in. “See? I told you you could do it!” he said, laughing.

Indeed.

Just a few months earlier, I had gotten PADI-certified. And although that was a scary concept to me, somehow I did it…and loved it.

Now whenever I face a new challenge, I think about that day in Panama City with gratitude. It’s a lovely reminder to all of us that we are capable of far more than we think we are.