If you have been reading me for a few months, you know how challenging 2025 has been for me.

And if you didn’t, I invite you to read: When My Head and Heart Pull in Different Directions - my MOST read letter so far!

In July, for my birthday, my husband gifted me skydiving. An old dream of mine.

In July, for my birthday, my husband gifted me skydiving. An old dream of mine.

The funny thing is, a few nights before - he'd been keeping the surprise for months - I asked, "Are we going to jump from a plane?" He went all white and felt so disappointed, but I was in tears of joy!

Finally. I'm going to do it.

I visualized myself doing it. I could feel my body already there, alive, happy...

Unfortunately, that day there was too much wind. Hurricane season. I was disappointed when they cancelled that morning - I'd been so excited.

We rescheduled for the beginning of December, but while driving to the opposite side of the island, they cancelled again. Too much wind again. I hoped I could finish the year with this jump.

A week later, that was it.

Before heading to the aerodrome, I had to watch the disclaimer video.

The guy said at least ten times that I might die. That I couldn't sue them.

At first I thought, okay, maybe I'm a bit crazy for wanting to do this.

But then I realized something. No matter what happened, I would be okay.

My dad later said I could end up tetraplegic. I hadn't thought about that part. But in that moment, I made peace with whatever would happen. I accepted it.

A good practice I've learned through my life is to let go of control. I'm still practicing.
I made this choice. Now I go. I stop thinking.

The small aerodrome is at the north of the island, facing the ocean and Maui.

While waiting to get into that tiny airplane, I witnessed other people's jumps. I told my husband that between the two instructors, I wanted the crazy one - the one doing wild turns in the sky.

Until it was my time.

Nervous? Yes. Trying to remember all the instructions - and being nervous while trying to remember things isn't easy.

Fear? Zero.

I was ready.

I got all geared up and climbed into the smallest plane I'd ever been in. We were two people jumping. The plane took off and climbed slowly. While we waited for the perfect altitude, I enjoyed the view of the islands and the ocean. My instructor was texting on WhatsApp like he was just on his daily commute.

When it was time, the first person got ready and disappeared into the sky in seconds.
Then it was my turn.

Of course, I forgot all the instructions. My eyes and body were taking everything in. We went through a cloud. The parachute opened. It felt so unreal but so beautiful.

My crazy instructor started doing his turns, letting me face the ground. I practiced my breathing, laughing, completely ecstatic from the beauty around me.

The trip was fast.

Back on earth, I felt the adrenaline rushing through me. But also sick - because I'd had the brilliant idea to drink a mocha a few hours before. I mean, I manifested getting the crazy instructor but forgot the basics.

Don't drink coconut milk before jumping from the sky.

When I fully came back to myself, we went to get some pizza slices in Hawi. In the calm of the backyard of the pizzeria, I described my experience to my husband. Big tears pearled down my cheeks. So amazed by the beauty and the perfection of our planet.

I was in the air, literally falling, and had the most amazing view. For once, not from a screen. Through my own eyes. What a gift!

And with that amazement came sadness too. Sadness about how we are not taking care of our planet. How we wait for someone else to fix it. People in power who choose profit over our planet. Who meet at summits, talk about change, then walk away with no real commitment.

We have everything we need. And somehow we learned that consumerism, fast rewards are our life goal.

When I looked at the island from the sky, I couldn't see the imperfections. The damaged parts. The things that need fixing. The things people toss by the side of the road...

I saw the towns, the houses, the fields well aligned and perfect. The parts I could never visit by car. The cliffs. The dark red soil. The jungle. The volcanoes. The ocean...

From up there, I saw what really matters. The natural beauty. The whole picture. Not the clutter of our daily consumption and waste.

That perspective - seeing the whole instead of the broken parts - is what shifts everything.

Because when you're on the ground, you only see what's right in front of you. The problems. The imperfections. The things that feel wrong.

But from above? You see the beauty that was there all along.

If I wasn't scared to jump from an airplane at 14,000 feet - if I could accept whatever might happen, even death - why am I scared of simpler things?

Scared of not pleasing people. Not being liked.

Fear of how the country I call home is turning into a place where I might have to run from.
Fear of not getting my independence and freedom back.

Fear of pain. Of being hurt.

I don't have the answer yet. But I will use this experience as a reference when I need a little push to move forward. When I need to remember what I'm capable of.

I think she said it well.

Sometimes you need to be 14,000 feet in the air to see what's really there. To remember that you're looking at everything from too close. That the whole picture is bigger and more beautiful than the broken parts you've been staring at.

When is the last time you really sat with a different perspective? Not just heard it and moved on, but actually allowed yourself to see your situation differently. In full presence. Seeing yourself reaching your goal but through a different route.

Reply and tell me - I read every response.

With gratitude,
Nina