My friend Dustin introduced me to slacklining. I think he got it in Israel when he was playing pro basketball over there. (Figures, 6’9″ white Jewish guy, right?) This is a great sport and if you YouTube it you can find many great videos. The rope is made of nylon and is basically constructed like a huge tie-down — the same kind you use for your dirt bikes in the back of the truck. The rope is maybe 2–3 inches wide and slices down the middle of your foot. The rope is wrapped around two sturdy objects a reasonable distance apart and is tightened until you can launch a small child from it 30 feet in the air.
The only way I can do this is to focus into the distance at some unseen point and zone out. I have to concentrate harder than I do most other times in my life. Each step feels like a hike over an ever-growing mountain. The middle of the rope is the toughest, but if you keep your body balanced the rope mysteriously will not sway as you might think. I need to apply this concentration to other areas of my life. I always describe it to people watching me with: “…just as you feel you are going to fall, you can hang at that balance point, and you will stay up despite everything you thought you knew about gravity.” If you don’t think you will fall, then you won’t.
One drawback to this sport is the setup of the damn rope — it just doesn’t go fast, and it is slightly scary ratcheting something to 10,000 pounds of pressure and then having it slip in front of your face.