Today my family made our way up to the Adirondacks for our annual Columbus Day weekend trip. Our first stop was Gore Mountain for their fall festival. It was packed! There was good food, a petting zoo, lots of craft vendors, and toe-tapping music. We found a picnic table and dug into our lunch.

Immediately, my son started worrying about the one problem with our beautiful day: the bees. They were buzzing around, often getting quite close, and it made him very nervous. We talked about how bees are more scared of him than he is of them, and that while a bee sting hurts, it’s not the end of the world. I ended our conversation with, “It’s worth the risk of putting up with something a little worrying for us to be in such a great place. Pay attention to all the other wonderful things around us.”

A little while later, we got into the gondola to ride up to the top of the mountain. It was an absolutely perfect day for it– clear blue sky, bright foliage as far as the eye could see, warm air. The car started moving, and I looked at my son and said, “Hey, bud? You know that advice I gave you before about the bees, and it being worth the risk? Can you repeat that back to me?”

I’m really scared of heights. Specifically, I’m scared of falling from heights, which makes taking a gondola feel like a big risk for me. I’ve done it every year at this festival, because the view is worth it. But there’s always a moment, just when I climb into the gondola car, when I feel the way my son feels when he hears the buzz of a bee.

Is it worth the risk?

Yes.

Do I need to keep reminding myself of that, in the face of my fear?

Yes.