The man whose picture you see above is Philippe Petit. Known all over the world as the one who conquered the 1,850 ft. high, tightrope walk across the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in 1974. Undoubtedly Petit’s most famous walk, yet definitely not his only one. Crowds gathered at about 7 or so in the morning to witness the amazing feat being gracefully carried out by Petit as he walked back and forth between the two towers showcasing his skill and expertise on nothing but Hope and a Wire!
Certainly there were distractions; the murmuring of the cops telling him he was crazy and needed to get off the wire, the gusts of wind threatening to throw Petit into the bottomless abyss, and the roar of the turbo jet engines from the airplane that abruptly entered the scene. All were valid threats but none were powerful enough to stand between a man and his dream!
Petit had been preparing for this walk for 6 years. By the time he carried it out he was completely equipped to do so both physically and mentally. He had everything he would need to be successful that morning; resolve, patience, passion, destination and his wire. The only thing that could hold Petit back at that point was himself.
For 45 minutes he danced upon the wire, becoming one with it, using its tension to his advantage, and displaying his mastery over it in an ever so respectful way. When he finally stepped off, he did so careful not get ahead of himself and with great reverence finished what he started!
Oh, if only we would learn to walk our wire with the same esteem Petit had for his! Not allowing the noise of our naysayers, the noise of this world, and the noise of interruptions to gain any advantage over our walk. That our determination would be such, that the voice of the adversary would be forever silenced by the hope of a vivid dream.
Our reminder, a constant one of how a dream giving G-d has equipped us with resolve, patience, passion and destination to carry out every idea that takes up any place in our heart. That we would learn to use the strain and pressure of our situation as a refinement tool preparing us to more effectively reach our destination, all the while never losing respect for the process. And most importantly, getting to know our wire. …Most wire walkers die at the very end, just as they are about to arrive. They think they have arrived but are still on the wire and step off prematurely.
We’re not there till we’re there!
Hi Rosie,
Visiting from Coffee for your Heart today. I’ve always been amazed at that photo and can’t imagine how he did it! But I love what you said about ignoring the naysayers in our lives (and the voices inside our own heads!) to carry out what God has put on our hearts!
I cant imagine how he did it either…but do know that FOCUS played a major part! That type of focus and determination will allow us to scale mountains! 🙂 Thanks for the visit.