seeking new adventures

so, i was just doing a little online catch-up with a long lost friend (aka, reading the blog of someone i used to work with 12 years ago... back in the days when i didn't read blogs or do e-mail and never would have imagined that this would become such an important part of my daily connection with friends)

anyway, his most recent post was a little something about climbing 60 or so feet up into a 100 foot cedar and how scary and exhilarating it was...

click here if you want to see Ty up in his tree

his post ends with the following:

Just a reminder to try really different things and scare yourself a little bit. It will take your mind to new places and it’s awesome for the soul. All creative people (aka EVERYONE) should be seeking new adventures weekly.

i used to do this all the time. but over the last couple of years, the scary things i have engaged in have not been a little bit scary but a huge bit scary.... move to a new country, get married, try to find a job in a crashing economy, buy a house....

all good and important things. all worth doing. but taken all at once, and without my usual support of a close network of family and friends.... it has been at times overwhelming, and more than a little scary. (it should be said that i still have that network of family and friends, and i'm enormously grateful for them.... but they're not here, not even close).

and so i stopped doing exciting and a little bit scary things for a while. because it's not really fun or stimulating to scare yourself a little more when you're already paralyzed by fear.

except that it is.... because doing those things that scare you a little bit, but are exciting and stimulating and sometimes fun... they help you to put the big scary things into perspective.

so, i'm going to go back to scaring myself a little bit... because it is revitalising and replenishing and invigorating. and as Ty said... it's awesome for the soul.