When I was in my mid-twenties I took some “life” classes in Boston that made a tremendous impression on me.
Basically the workshop was designed to give each attendee the “tools” to help them become courageous in their own lives. Many of the exercises we were asked to do to complete the course and graduate had us do the things that scare us….
To this day I absolutely HATE that feeling of virtually stepping out on the “skinny branches” of life where I may indeed fall flat, fall hard, and fall far. However it’s taught me a lot about what real courage is: to be able to stand in the face of great fear, and “do” whatever it is that scares you anyway ( i still consider myself a student btw).
I realized the other day that this particular lesson ( stepping outside your comfort zone) has also allowed me the vantage point of KNOWING when i am in the presence of greatness. To be able to witness someone who has achieved great things in life and KNOW that they faced their own fears in order to get where they are… even if on the outside they made it look easy.
Greatness can show up anywhere and sometimes as something as simple as someone who has the courage to be themselves, cry in front of strangers, speak out in the face of disagreement, or stop the car to help another in need. Greatness does not have to look like being the first woman to fly to the moon, or to sail around the world.
I think it can also be things like: being big enough to not have to be “right” in an argument even walking away finally from someone who has been treating you badly…
We all know what it feels to be outside our comfort zone, and if you should forget, I just want to put my 2 cents out there and whisper the hint: It feels like being “alive.”
