Trying Something New Looks Like …

Trying something new looks like … floating down river as a leaf.

Okay, let me rewind and give some content to this image.

What came out of this summer was a wonderfully powerful metaphor that is helping me get clear on what I want and where I want to go.

You see, for years I have prided myself on being a project oriented person who loves to envision the project and then put the whole thing into motion. I’d enjoy every minute of it, and yet, it left me wanting more. What’s next? What can I dig my teeth into? Always about the destination not the journey.

Well, I started to realize that (and here’s where the metaphor comes in) I love being in my boat – it’s safe, I know it, I am adept at using the oars, the sails, the rudder, the steering wheel, the compass, and the map, yet I keep circumnavigating an island. Going a couple of degrees further out each time. I am safe in this boat and I know what to do with all those tools.

What I’ve come to embrace and lean into is: the current – it too is trustworthy and knows where it’s going (represents the spiritual or meta-physical connection to my life), the weather: which comes and goes and brings with it all kinds of information (represents my emotions and how I can notice them, be present with them, and let them pass through me rather than define me), and the constellations: those fixed points in space that hold some much history and wonder (represent my past and the past of others). And I’m learning that these elements can help me navigate my life with more clarity and can lead me into unknown waters with certainty and adventure.

And so, this summer I’ve been leaning into these elements and getting out of my boat. At first I’d get into the water and hold onto the edge of the boat for safety until I realized I can trust the current and trust myself in the process.

Like the leaf I am letting the current take me down stream. I know there will be rapids up ahead, whirlpools to avoid, and debris that will slow me down, and yet, it’s a great adventure and I’ve prepared for this.

A good friend recently said to me, live with wild abandon, and right now, this is me living wildly and it’s scary and exciting at the same time; although I will say, I’m letting go of fear’s grip on me.