On the Edge
Living on the edge can have lots of meanings for many different people. For some it can mean taking sports to their limits, excelling racing cars to their maximum level as though blending the self and the surrounding countryside into one, the surge of adrenaline pumping like a fully wound clock pounding against a tight heart. Or perhaps the thrill of rock climbing, taking the challenge of height and depth. Or the challenge of hand-gliding, becoming as a bird to the land below. Even to live on the edge of our pain threshold (which I have seen from others countless times) challenges our inner-self to a point of new focus and control through the pursuit of pleasure.
However, for the person living on the edge, the reality goes a lot deeper than just these possibilities. For there are emotional and spiritual aspects of this which challenge our life and preconceived notions. Those who believe in pushing themselves to the limit, will challenge his or her beliefs and compare with others who hold an equally strong opposing view. It is possible to enjoy the time between wake and sleep, when our thoughts are most open and we are easily able to astral or interact with the paranormal and / or supernatural. We can push our emotions to their extremes to discover their full depth
For the challenger, there are the abstract notions of living on the edge. We can live in the boundary between order and chaos; the notion of reality being but a pinnacle from another stance yet still maintain the notion of familiarity to interact and discuss. The edge of light maintains our connection with our inner glow, yet explores the darkness which is kept within. (In my opinion The Neverending Story is such an example which combines all of this, the reader in the dreamer's world; the real fantasy; the parts of the book exploring the reader's darkness and light and so on.)
For the person who lives on the edge there is always a new challenge, idea or thought to further test the strength of the inner spirit, and a restlessness that is felt within the very core of their being. A new challenge or perspective awaits to be explored in all kinds of new ways.
I remember when I first picked up the book "On the Edge". I read the first page discussing extreme sports and believed the person it was describing was not me. Then I came across many other emotional and metaphysical ways to involve being 'on the edge' and I realised I was such a person after all.
(Adapted from the book "Living on the Edge" / "On the Edge", author not remembered.)