Come To The Edge

In 1926, the British poet Christopher Logue published his book, New Numbers, a compilation of poems of his own composition. It wasn’t particularly well-received or highly regarded within literary circles at the point of time, but gradually gained acceptance and recognition. One particular poem, titled Come To The Edge, stood out for its literary elegance, its simplicity, and above all, its message;

“Come to the edge.

we might fall.

Come to the edge.

It’s too high!

COME TO THE EDGE!

And they came

And he pushed

And they flew.”

In a few simple lines, it conveyed the multitude of emotions and feelings when embarking into the unknown. Within these lines echo a sense of self-doubt, the conviction to pursue, the encouragement of others, and the euphoria of success. Above all, it drove home the message that sometimes, we have to take the plunge to achieve the dreams we harbour. 

What can we take away from this? 

First, as human beings, we are complex creatures. Beneath the veneer that we paint to portray the best versions of ourselves often lurk and manifest a more turbulent, chaotic vulnerability that we try to deny or hide. For many of us, we hide this vulnerability with charm, eloquence, style or even detachment. However, anchoring all that is a sense that we aren’t good enough. In short, we lack the belief that we can succeed. 

To overcome this lack of belief, we often have to rely on the encouragement of those around us. As Logue himself alluded to above, if “he” didn’t push, “they” wouldn’t have flown. Hence, it is important to surround yourself with the right company, people who can be a source of strength, encouragement and positivity. Above all, it must be people who have your welfare at heart. 

Secondly, we need to acknowledge our fears. 

It is important to understand and emphatise with ourselves. No one is truly fearless. To overcome our fears and doubts, we first have to acknowledge them. By acknowledging them, we can plan with the end in mind. For instance, by wanting to fly, we have to acknowledge our fear of falling from height, so that we can build the right tools or devices to create the physics of flight. 

Lastly, we need to execute. 

To fly, we need to jump off the cliff and leave the safety of land. There is no use in having the best plans in the world if we do not execute them or put them in action. Erwin Rommel, the famed desert fox of the North African campaign is often quoted as saying the following: “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” Even with the best plans, no results will come unless we execute them with courage and with thought. 

Final thoughts

We face mental battles on a daily basis, and sometimes we lose track of what is important to us, and what we want in life. We can get caught in the spiralling vortex of inaction, and risk losing our souls in the process. We can unconsciously become empty shells of our being, especially when we get caught up in feelings of self-doubt and fear. 

Very often, the way to break the spiral is to get away from feelings of self-pity and victimisation, and to move towards a motion of plan and action. To do so, we need to surround ourselves with the right people, people who can drive us to action, towards a growth mindset. At the very end, we have to jump into the unknown. 

To fly, we need to first come to the edge.