Amy Lu's View

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being backstage, waiting to go on to perform.

It’s terrifying–so much could go wrong. Depending on what type of performance I’m doing, there’s a menu of potential mishaps–I could forget my lines, or my voice could crack, or I could totally mess up my piano playing, or I could trip. 

It’s also exhilarating–so much could go right. 

At some point, I just have to trust in the preparation that I’ve done to get me there, and trust and hope that if (when) things do go wrong and/or I mess up, I (or we if it’s an ensemble endeavor) will be able to deal with them. 

It’s a leap of faith. 

Yes, in case you haven’t guessed it yet…my theme for Leap Day is Leap of Faith. (The Bruce Springsteen song popped into my head and there you go).

“It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust”

Bruce Springsteen, “Leap of Faith

Accepting my current position at work was definitely a leap of faith for me. The opportunity was completely unexpected, and I had a lot of self doubt–was I up to a new challenge and level of responsibility? Now that I’m almost exactly 5 years in (Yay for a work anniversary) I’m so thankful I took the risk. I certainly have made, and continue to make mistakes, but with the help of awesome people I work with, things get figured out. 

Running a race always feels like a leap of faith for me, too–especially a marathon. But it’s not just the big races that require me to take an optimistic plunge into something that feels scary. Sometimes a short everyday run feels impossible, and I can’t imagine how I can run more than five minutes. 

Then I need to not take a leap of faith, but just a step of faith. And then another. And another. 

Leaps and steps are appealing metaphors, but I think we should consider all types of ambulation. Maybe sometimes we need a skip of faith–that feels playful. Or a hop? Like a leap but less extreme. A waltz? Gentle and graceful. And sometimes, maybe all we can is a crawl of faith.

Or a pub crawl of faith? Hey Bruce–I may have your next hit!