Another Christmas is in the books. The big storm with all of it's snow, flash freezing and strong winds has now passed (at least where I live). Life goes on to the next big event of New Year's Eve. After that, it will just continue as it always does.
Time just is. It doesn't store itself up and wait. It doesn't pause when something significant happens to you and it doesn't give you a break to allow you to have more of it. The minutes and hours will continue to march forward while never-ending to a destination that is never reached. Like Mark Heard wrote, "Time marches away like a lost platoon."
Our time on this earth has a beginning (birth), a middle (life) and an end (death). Now that I look at what I've written, it seems pretty depressing.
That's not all life is though right? In the middle. That's where the action happens! Though it may continue on and on, we are living and breathing in it. This year, I decided that I didn't want to simply exist in the middle but to actually participate in something far more grand. I was going to try new things and win or lose, I was going to do anything but just simply exist.
So, what did I do? My family and I went to Montreal (we had never left the province prior to this) to take in the sights and sounds of a marvellous city. We loved it. I enrolled and was accepted to begin studying at Brock University. A book that I had dreamed of writing for years was completed and published! New manuscripts have been written as well and another road of possibilities has been forged. For some, this is not a big thing. For others, this sounds like too much. I don't know whether it's a lot or a little but the point to all of this is that I am doing rather than existing!
Existing, for me, happened for a long time. I was content to simply be where I should be at the proper time. Something changed this year and I experienced a discontentedness where satisfaction could only be met by doing something new.
This isn't to say that I haven't been scared the entire time. I have wanted to turn away from some of these new experiences because they're kind of scary. What is different and new is always met with fear and uncertainty. It's easy to walk away because it's the safe thing to do. I was sick of being safe.
It's like the episode of Seinfeld where George decided to do the exact opposite of everything he had always done before. Every day has the possibility to be an "Opposite Day".
I'm still learning and that means I'm still growing. I invite you today, in your own discontent, to dream as well. Write it down. Talk it over with a trusted friend. Make and solidify your plans. Try something new today. You can be afraid but that's when your bravery takes over. Don't let your fear come up with excuses to stop before you even begin.
Time may continue to push ever forward but with every step you take, you can walk a new path into adventure. May your steps be deliberate as you march and know that you're middle doesn't have to be just existence but victory!
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