“You're under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago.”
— Alan Watts
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A while back I saw a story about an Australian 12 year old who booked flights and hotels in Bali, flew there by himself, checked into his hotel, only to be busted when they started looking for him as he didn’t show up for school.
I thought - how awesome (and that’s kinda late to miss him, isn't it?).
His mum? Not so impressed!
“Shocked, disgusted. There’s no emotion to feel what we felt when we discovered that he had left overseas,” she said.
I imagine he must be a handful, I get that, perhaps being his mum and dad would be a constant nightmare … however … at 12 years old doing all that by yourself? To me, that is not so disgusting as amazing.
At 12, I was crying at the bus stop when I realised I’d caught the wrong bus to the wrong part of town.
But our little guy?
“It was great,” he said. “Because I wanted to go on an adventure.”
YES!
Give him a medal and a pat on the back for being so awesome – and clever too. (Just maybe hide your credit cards).
I don’t know about you – maybe you have a 12 year old who is a touch willful and this just terrifies you – but I think having a more adventurous attitude is an incredible thing.
Here's the thing.
You get to pick your adventure, but pick something. Simply trying something just a tiny bit different is such a boost.
A new workshop, a new recipe, wandering down that street you wonder where it goes, going over and saying hello rather than thinking about it …
It breaks you out of a rut, it gives a freshness to your day, it makes life come alive … and all it is, really, is an attitude put into practice.
Doing different things, but being different too.
You don’t have to play the same old roles, have the same old conversations, get into the same old dramas, wish the same wishes without making them happen …
You can do something about it, despite the internal concerns and doubts and all the grey reasons why not.
A touch of bravery and life opens up extraordinarily. There’s so much more to live for. Just knowing that you can risk a little, break free of routine a little, become a little different – it brings such freedom, such a lightness of being.
That small voice of “I can’t”, “I’m not sure”, “What if …?” just doesn’t hold as much power over you, and that is a wonderful thing.
Letting that voice be an option and not a reality means all your inner voices become a little more transparent.
Doing different things means you learn that you can cope, you do come through, and so resilience follows.
So why not? As someone once said, there’s free cheese in the mice traps but the mice there aren’t happy.
Stay safe with what you know and have always done?
Or branch out and try something different, do something different, be someone different.
There’s so little to lose and so much to gain.
Go well!
Arjuna
PS.
Want to be a touch more brave? More adventurous perhaps?
It’s really as simple (though not easy) as not letting your fear get the better of you.
Everyone has doubt, worry, anxiety, it’s just some of us have learned not to listen.
The less you listen the less it grows.
A secret is being able to shift your attention … learning to let go of what doesn’t serve you and invest your energy in what does.
This is mindfulness and meditation in a nutshell, and it’s why it’s such a great practice, for anyone.
Now,
I have a free meditation course on Facebook you may like to check out.
It’s super simple yet as comprehensive as you like, and you can ask all your questions there.
Head this way to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/708920116904793/
Or, let me know how I can help. I’d be happy to chat.