Firewalk
So this firewalk was done because a dear friend of mine, who works with a local 'adrenaline-fueled' charity named Transition Extreme emailed me about it. I'm not sure if she knew this was on the Improvement List or maybe she just thought it's something I'd do, but either way, I wasted no time in committing to it.
On the day though, I discovered there was more to it that just a few seconds walking over the hot coals. After the standard safety waivers and talk etc, we were confronted with a big pile of broken glass.
We were told this was a mindfulness exercise in order to trust yourself by walking across the shards. At first, we all seemed a little hesitent, but as I was sitting in the front row, I decided to go for it first. After all, we were told 'you will only get out of the experience what you put into it' - that proved to be correct.
In any case, I went for it. And as it turns out - it wasn't that bad.
After the glasswalk, I was feeling pretty good, and I was motivated to talk on the firewalk! However, the crew running things had one more thing in store before heading out to it.
We were asked "is anyone willing to commit 100% to something?" Of course my hand went up, despite not knowing what I was committing to. Some people tell me I'm too impulsive.
In any case, 6 of us stood up and were asked to snap an arrow using our necks. An odd thing to do. So one by one, we point the arrow to the base of our throats', the other end into a board, and when asked, leaned towards it with 100% commitment. 5 of the 6 managed to snap the arrow.
Finally - it was time to step up and walk across the burning coals. A couple of things to note on this -
We were told minutes before walking that the temperature was 1150 degrees Fahrenheit. Ridiculous.
I was second in line. the girl in front of me, looking super psyched, said "I think I'm ready to do this". But when the guy in charge shouted to go, she wasn't ready, leaving me to step up first - great.
I discovered afterwards, that medical assistance wasn't present. I'm not sure why, or maybe I just didn't see them. In any case, it left me with pretty sore feet. That being said, about half the people that completed the walk had little or no blisters. I call that unlucky for myself and the others.
Step number 3 I took - that is the exact moment I realised it was super hot and I needed to get off haha.
I did it! But at what cost? Well, below are 2 pictures of my feet not even 90 minutes after the walk. However, because it is completely gross... you'll have to scroll a bit. View at your own risk, but fair warning, they're pretty disgusting!
