Thoughts on Tuesday

I wrote this a while back and kept forgetting to publish it. Now seems as good a time as any, and I don't have to think this morning. Yeah, I'm lazy that way!

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If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.
~Ray Bradbury

I've liked this quote for a long time. There have been many times in my life that I had to take that proverbial leap of faith and believe it would work out. I have to say, most times it did.

In looking back over my life, I see so many times that I now know it was a good thing that I trusted my wings to materialize. I don't think of myself as an adventurous person, yet, in many ways, I think I am. I hate the trepidations about taking that next step at times, because it is stepping into a void, an unknown. That step is hard for most of us. There are some people that have that addiction to the rush, who love taking risks, and if they are not standing on quicksand, find life boring. I'm certainly not one of those! I like to know what is under my feet, and quicksand is not one of the things I'd step into knowingly. I've enjoyed my share of major roller coasters in my time, but in real life, I prefer a little bit more predictability.

I do like new experiences. I'm not a person who would be happy living out my years in a rocking chair, even on my deck with the breathtaking view. No, I like to shake it up a bit by meeting new people, going to places I've never been before, experiencing new foods, trying out new things. (I've been accused many times of being a techno-geek! Actually one, uh, friend called me a techno-ho!! LOL! Yeah, I like cutting edge gadgets!) To me that is fun and keeps my life spirited. I still have a long list of things on my bucket list, and as finances allow, I will do as many as I can. Sometimes, those adventures require a bit of faith that the wings will be there when I need them. Thus far, they have been.

Regardless of my own wishes, what I want to get from life, there is more to it than Hedonistic pleasures. If I don't expand myself to my fullest, I'm possibly cheating others of their life experiences, too. I say this because I believe every action we take has an effect on others (see last week's post on Thoughts onTuesday). Call it "karma." Call it "what goes around, comes around." Call it "cosmic energy." Whatever. I believe that what I do .... or don't do .... may have an influence the lives of others. (I think I'll post on that some time.) If someone my age sees me moving those rocks in my garden, perhaps they will get out of the rocking chair and, well, maybe not move rocks, but do something new and challenging in their lives. If my grandchildren see that I'm still capable of enjoying many things that they do, perhaps I will help them to dispel stereotypes about aging. Better yet, maybe they'll invite me on their adventures!

So. I need to allow my wings to grow. And I will. It is an important part of my life, taking calculated risks and allowing my life to fill enough space to make me smile and soar, and to touch others, as well. And with that, another quote that relates in a way to all this:

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed condition; to know even one life has breathed because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

May we all succeed!!!