My boyhood friends and I loved to go hiking and climbing around in the local foothills as often as we could. I recall how vigorously we would scale the jagged rocks. During one of our trips, however, my confidence was shaken.
Having climbed fearlessly to the top of one large rock, I positioned myself to leap across to another. The space between the two was narrow enough, perhaps a couple of feet, so it seemed pretty simple. What I hadn't anticipated, however, was landing on a small section of gravel that immediately gave way. With no rough edge to grab onto, I began sliding down the side of the rock, and for a moment I believed that was the end for me. Then suddenly, much to my surprise, my feet hit solid ground. Although I hadn't seen it at first, the two rocks were fused together only three feet below where I had jumped.
It's difficult to describe the combination of surprise and great relief I felt when I discovered I was in no danger after all. I look back at that brief incident with some amazement at how quickly and deeply our perception (or misperception) can affect us. That experience on the rock was quite frightening until I realized I was on solid footing.
