Aerial acrobatics – Trust
Trust is something that needs to be conquered again and again and again.
History of Aerial acrobatics
Aerial acrobatics is acrobatic movements performed in the air using specialized apparatus such as aerial silk, rope, straps, cradle (a type of chair used for catching) or aerial hoop.
The best-known piece of equipment in aerial acrobatics is probably the trapeze. Here too, there are a few different variants: static trapeze, in which one or more people move on and around the hanging trapeze, swinging trapeze in which, the trapeze is used as a swing, giving the movements speed and flight, or flying trapeze in which several people are tossed and fly between multiple trapezes and catchers. Here the artists will have different roles or specializations: those called flyers are tossed and caught, and those who catch them are justly called catchers.
Excerpt from "Inside a Circus Heart"
When you are hanging ten meters above the ground by the grip of someone else’s hand, it is for real. You’re living on the edge. The aerial acrobat flies in a wide arc through the air and is caught at full speed by his catcher. A miscalculation of a centimetre and the catch is like a collision between two concrete blocks moving at 70 kilometres an hour.
The flyer says:
Once I’ve let go of my trapeze and I’m in the air, I’m past the point of no return… All I can do then is to fly and to have trust… I have to believe that all the hours of training and preparation are engraved in me, and that I do what I’m supposed to when I’m supposed to do it. If I see that my aim is off, my whole consciousness tells me to make a correction. But that is just what I should refrain from doing! The catcher corrects, I have to let go and do everything to prevent myself from doing anything at all. I surrender myself and trust the catcher to correct the error and catch me.
For me, flying trapeze is the ultimate circus art. If I could live my life all over again, I would be a flying trapeze artist! In the meantime, I get to practice flying on the ground… Dare to let go of the little things; of a show, a project or a goal. Let go when it is time to do so.
Dare to allow others to carry. Not using the instinct to control or correct with the knowledge I have today but have trust in the unknown that may arise. I notice that it is possible to carry with the help of trust instead of control. When I trust myself, my co-workers and the process, I can make existence fly, if not ten meters up in the air then at least a few centimetres above the ground. I discovered that my trust is a facilitator.
Still, it is so hard to let go.
The flyer says:
To have trust isn’t something you learn once and for all. Having trust is something that needs to be conquered again, and again and again.