Sunday, December 4, 2016

Sometimes Safe Isn't Safe At All

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been mulling over an important decision in my life. Okay, mulling may not be the right word. It's been more like obsessing. I've affirmed aloud and in writing that I would let it go- let time and meditation and maybe even a little prayer do the job. But the truth, the real truth, is I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since it surfaced as a decision.

Today, in a Sunday morning moment of clarity, I think I have concluded what I should do. Notice of course, the "I think" at the start of my last sentence, still denoting a noncommittal decision. It's time to make a move that feels a little unsafe. Why? Because the unsafe thing to do is stay safe all the time. Stay with me for a minute...

Safe on the outside risks the safety of your soul, your passion, your ability to seek more. It's easier to stay where you are all the time. Your town, your home, your job, your relationships- even the unhealthy ones, because they are what you know. The what-if's scare the hell out of people. Unknown territory, unknown outcomes make people nervous. Makes sense, it's human nature. But I realized today, I think I'm more fearful of the always wondering what could have been kind of what-if than the what if I make a bad decision what if.

Nothing in life is so permanent that we can't rebound or change again if we think the decision was wrong. Nothing can be that catastrophic. We owe it to ourselves to stretch, to reach, to challenge ourselves to new experiences. Playing it safe, for me, isn't safe at all.

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