I was in my fifties when I finally did my first stage dive.
Yes, you read that right, fifty-something and flying through the air into a sea of strangers’ hands. For a brief, heart-stopping moment, I felt weightless. Then came the rush, the laughter, the freedom, the deep knowing that I had just rewritten an old story.

For much of my life, my body carried memories of fear and survival. It remembered what it meant to brace, to protect, to hold back. Healing taught me that trust isn’t something that simply arrives one day, it’s something we build, breath by breath, choice by choice. That night, standing on that stage, I wasn’t just jumping into a crowd. I was leaping into trust in myself, in others, in the sheer joy of being alive.

As a coach and therapist, I often encourage others to step beyond what feels safe, to challenge the stories that whisper, “You can’t.” But this time, it was me putting that wisdom into practice , embodying what I so often share. It reminded me that healing doesn’t end when the pain subsides; it deepens when we allow joy to take up space where fear once lived.

When I jumped, I wasn’t just stage diving, I was surrendering the weight of “what if” and choosing “why not.”
And in that surrender, I discovered something beautiful: our bodies and our spirits are capable of more than we ever imagine when we trust them to soar.

Sharon Fitzmaurice

Holistic Wellness Coach, Author & Podcast Host