Having spent my early years in Newfoundland, Canada, I remember well the ferocity of the Atlantic Ocean beating against the rocky cliffs of the shoreline. I remember also the birds that flew into and nestled on the barren ledges, hanging on, with their bodies shivering. Some of them nestled in places where they continued to be battered at the mercy of nature’s fury. There might have been a ‘soft place to fall’ just beyond those ledges; however they, like us, stayed, struggled and shivered in scarcity because it was familiar.
None of us really wants to live a life of limitations and struggle, staying safe to the point of dullness. We may dream of a different kind of life; however when it comes to crossing the threshold many of us hesitate or do not find the courage to risk the change. I’ve been there many times, on the ledges of my life’s important junctures, when I found myself clinging to the old. Fraught with fear, when change was absolutely necessary in order to have a fuller, more passionate life, I moved slowly, tenuously forward to get to the next foothold.
My mission, actually my passion is to encourage you to come out of the hallway or off the ledges of hesitancies, doubts and fears. Embrace your confusions, accept those parts of yourself that you have pushed down or rejected. With the acceptance of what is hidden you will encounter more of the rich tapestry of who you really are. Take the risk and learn, as you embrace your darkness, you make room for your unclaimed light to shine.
We may stay safe for a while but nothing stays the same, so we have to get out of our own way Break out of the little boxes of safety. It is an illusion anyway. There will be paths not taken, and there will be course corrections. Choose what is intrinsic to you, your strength and your gifts to the world. If you do not step off the ledge at some point, you will be blown off; how much better to have chosen. Once you choose, do not feed yourself with rumination, remorse or regret as it is a given that you will make mistakes. Remember, most decisions are not in concrete and you can change your mind. Be less at the mercy of life’s storms. We cannot stop the storms but we can be like a good sailor, be prepared to utilize the winds as they unfurl the sails. Find that ‘sweet spot.’
