While Walking a Tightrope

Always Wear a Harness

First time Walking a tightrope at the Winnipeg Museum, December 6, 2011

One of my favorite activities growing up involved going to my local museum. After moving away from Winnipeg, I would still try to visit the Manitoba Museum whenever I was in town. Over the years they have had travelling exhibits featuring an Egyptian mummy, the Kimonos of a famous Japanese diva, and the history of the Circus, among many others.

While walking through the Circus exhibit my friend and I decided to try walking the tightropes. They had two set up: one which was set approximately 1 foot from the ground and allowed you to try balancing using a long pole, and the one above where you tried walking around 20 feet while 10 feet above the ground.

Since they knew most of the people trying this out were amateurs, wearing a harness was mandatory on the 10 foot tightrope. It was harder than I thought and gave me a greater appreciation for the talented performers who do this for a living. The wire is less than an inch wide and since I was wearing winter boots I had trouble keeping my balance.

After several attempts I finally managed to walk it by holding on to both sides of the harness and using that to keep my balance. Using this technique I made it to the end and even managed to take two steps backwards before turning around and heading back.

The main lesson I learned from this experience is — it is OK to cheat and use a harness as you practice balancing in life. As you become more skilled however it is not impressive and you should get rid of some of the safety measures knowing that you have what it takes to be great.

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This article was published on September 18th, 2024 in Long. Sweet. Valuable. publication.