Erin Hanson wrote - “There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask "What if I fall?"
Oh but my darling, What if you fly?”
When I came across the poem by Erin Hanson it was like a gut punch. It took my breath away, made me mentally stumble.
It caused me to lose my train of thought and propelled me down a slope of a million different thoughts about how this applied to my life and many others who may have at some point been so frozen by fear, that they never took a step in any direction, rooted in one spot.
At one point, that was me. I played it safe. I stayed in the shallow end of the pool, holding on to the side. I flinched each and every time one of my family members got to close for fear that they would drag me further out as if my claim of not being able to swim were just a way to avoid getting my face wet.
It was no lie.
That does not change the fact that the fear was so powerful, that there were times I would avoid the pool altogether.
What a way to spend summer eh?
I eventually learned how to swim and eventually got over THAT fear, but the habit of allowing fear to control my actions was still pretty deeply imbedded.
Fear can be a great ally, but it is always a terrible master.
Fear tells you only what will happen if you fail. Fear only tells you what will happen if things go wrong.
Fear only shows you the glass.....empty.
When that happens....you end up standing at the edge, thirsty and unwilling to take the next step.
But...what if the voice....was wrong?
No, not every time, but what if you took a chance, dared yourself, made the step and....it worked?
What if all of your preparation, and forethought, and studying paid off. What if you knew that the only to find out was to make and take the risk in order to gain the reward.
What then?
What if you stopped letting the molehills to become mountains?
I am not saying that caution is not needed in some instances. No that would be foolish. But if we live our lives in that space, then that space will never grow beyond our ability to control the things around us.
And isn't a part of the beauty of life....of living about NOT being in control?
Isn't it not about knowing what's in the box?
Isn't it about figuring out the riddle instead being given everything without effort?
It the mystery of the "What If" that makes our life-space so worthwhile. And it is those things, those risks that quicken the heart and blossoms growth.
I spent too much time on the rim of the pool. Watching everyone around me laugh ... and play....and yes....to an extent... live.
I ask you not to do the same.
Many carry a fear of failure one that is larger than our desire to become the best version of ourselves.
We waste time standing at the edge looking down. Wondering how far it goes, and how scared we WILL feel if we step off.
But that moment never comes.
Our moments aren't guaranteed. Any second, minute or hour could be the last. It is well pass time that we look at those precious times exactly as they are...
I learned to lean into my own greatness. A greatness that was always there, but I was too afraid to turn on the lights and look at it.
A greatness we all have if we are willing to embrace it.
Yes...that's right...
You too.
Greatness belongs to you.
Take the step. Make the leap. If that is too much, crawl....then walk and lastly run until you can jump.
Success is waiting there with open arms.
Time fly's and it is time to fly.
Speaker...Author...Coach...Warrior
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