What Baumgartner has achieved is to demonstrate that it’s possible to push the human spirit and body beyond known limits
The daredevil skydiver, better known as Fearless Felix, has done himself proud by shattering a few records while also breaking the sound barrier in a blood-curdling leap from 24 miles above the earth. At a time when all we tend to see around us in the world are economic woes, conflict zones, political strife and 21st-century turmoil as nations compete for the planet’s limited resources, here comes a feat by Austrian Felix Baumgartner that uplifts the soul of all humanity.
The veteran thrill-seeker, who has already leapt from the world’s tallest buildings and crossed the English Channel in freefall with the aid of a carbon wing, has stretched his boundaries in plummeting to earth at supersonic speed.
Such feats do much for the human spirit because they are essentially about enterprise, with an individual trying to achieve something in his chosen endeavour or adventure. However impossible such a project might seem for the common adventure seeker, the fact is that the controlled fall in a special pressure suit, to ensure his blood didn’t boil during the descent from impossibly low pressure and the stratosphere’s temperature, has thrown up a hero much needed in a world, with a population of seven billion and counting, that could otherwise so easily slip into a dark hole of despondency.
While team sports are about tribal loyalties and do much for the collective spirit of fans and followers, individual feats of derring-do are a reminder that there is no limit to human ingenuity and endurance. Whether it is crossing the Niagara, walking the tightrope across frightening chasms, climbing Mount Everest and other great peaks, traversing the rapids or simply jogging in a marathon, all feats are to do with the spirit that resides within us, driving us to constantly push the envelope. The important principle is — unlike in competitive sports where opponents are clearly up against each other — the real competitor in attempting such feats is the individual himself.
It is not only in skydiving freefalls from the edge of space that we take such great delight. We are equally happy when the world discovers the next musical genius, author, poet, artist or thespian, and in fact any kind of achiever who stokes our imagination with the sheer beauty of his effort or performance. What Baumgartner has achieved is to demonstrate that it’s possible to push the human spirit and body beyond known limits. The only constraint is imagination these days since technology has improved so much as to arm anyone with the best possible equipment for his chosen field while the artistically inclined have easy access to the best works of history through the ubiquitous Internet that has helped expand our knowledge base.