Monday, December 20, 2021
If comfort were your goal, then you would have already achieved it. There are millions of products and services in the world that are meant to make us comfortable, yet we are as uneasy, fearful, and totally uncomfortable as we ever were. But life wants you to engage with it, not partially, but fully. You cannot fear being uncomfortable. Why? Because what only feels uncomfortable, is actually space of vulnerability. It’s where good ideas come from. It’s where opportunity emerges. It’s where creativity and meaning come from. It’s where true love exists. It’s where humility lives.
You cannot survive in the middle – avoiding all risk. You cannot survive in the extremes, either. You cannot sustain the highs of giving into carnal desires, nor can you survive being so afraid that you jump out of your skin each time life says, “boo.” As much as emotional pain hurts, it’s not quite as detrimental as you make it out to be. The pain of life’s poor choices bears the lessons that you need. There is value in it. Until you realize that there is no loser in the “game” of life, you’ll just keep sitting there, on the bench watching, but not engaging. It’s fear that paralyzes, and it’s reality that provokes. Not fully engaging with reality is the real loss.
Playing it safe is not actually playing – it’s sidelining pain. But life’s purpose is not to avoid pain. Life’s purpose is to embrace what is, to jump into the opportunity to play, to move forward when there only seems to be an obstacle, and to live boldly when the illusion of fear overcomes you. Life is to be thoughtful, not to be a scaredy-cat. It’s to be vulnerable, not demanding nor reactionary. It’s to be open, not naive. It’s to be free, not imprisoned by the mind. Reality is not meant to harm you. But it won’t leave you alone until you fully engage with it, in the game of life, and “play” fearlessly.