We are not the sole authors of our destiny, each of us; our destinies are entangled – messily, unpredictably – Firmin DeBradander, philosopher
Human flight has been a pursuit for hundreds, if not thousands of years. A physicist survived jumping from a building with an early version of a parachute in the late 1700’s. A German engineer completed a successful flight with a hang glider in the late 1800’s. Military skydives were completed regularly in the 1900’s. The modern parachute was designed in the 1960’s. Base jumping was first filmed in the late 1970’s. While wingsuiting began in the 1920’s, modern wingsuits took flight in the 1990’s. Enter Matt Higgins’ book, Bird Dreams: Adventures at the Extremes of Human Flight.
In this work, Higgins introduces the reader to wingsuiting and BASE jumping…and some of the innovators in both sports. What should jump off the page is that the author doesn’t describe adrenaline junkies that simply push the limits. The “characters” in this book are described in such a way as to help us understand the individual journey and what is really a passion. A passion for life. A passion for human achievement. A passion for human flight.
Each of these innovators brings something different to the sport. Yet, each displays the commitment to growth. Each progressed through their athletic journey at a different pace and with different lessons to be learned, but each was committed to the requisite work and development. That’s what really jumped out to me – each put in the effort and the time. None was described simply as a talented athlete that easily progressed in the sport. They took their trade seriously and put in the work. Those are the lessons that we all can learn and apply. Whatever our calling, and regardless of the level of natural talent, we must put in the work.
A bird is an instrument working according to mathematical law, and it is in the capacity of man to reproduce such an instrument. A man with wings large enough and duly attached might learn to overcome the resistance of the air and raise himself upon it. – Leonardo Da Vinci