Stockholm Syndrome

Well, this is what I was doing much of the morning.

How do we soar?

Ueli Gegenschatz is out of his bleedin' mind. But what he's able to do in a wingsuit is beautiful. As I listened to his talk, I was taken by the following quote:

Extreme sports, top level, like this is only possible if you practice step-by-step if you really work hard on your skill and your knowledge. Of course, you need to be in physical, very good condition, so I'm training a lot. You need to have the best possible equipment. And, probably the most important, is you have to work mental skills, mental preparation. And all this to come as close as possible to the human dream of being able to fly.

Is it just me, or don't the same principles seem to hold true for discipleship and the virtuous life? Train, use the best possible equipment, prepare mentally, all toward the end of one day being able to soar. Sounds suspiciously like a self-salvation project, but we do have to pull some of the load in this divine/human synergistic endeavor that is "being conformed to Jesus" and growing into the divine life.