Life lesson 2: The life that’s right in front of you

 

Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

(John Lennon)

I am a dreamy kind of person, always have been. I love to conjure up wild and wonderful ideas and spend regular time in the playground of my mind. The difference between now and many years ago is that I used to permanently camp out in that playground, living out a large part of my life in a fantasy world. Beauty and adventure were right in front of my doorstep all along, I just didn’t actively search for them.

If you are like I was, you may think thoughts like ‘nothing interesting ever happens to me’ and admire other peoples’ lives from afar. I would come up with all sorts of nice stories, but never put myself on life’s centre stage. Instead, I would hang around the fringes and the shadows, dodging most forms of attention with a high level of skill and finesse. I ran from opportunities and hid from chances at having any kind of influence. My make-believe life was all I needed, thank you very much!

This attitude did not disappear overnight, but rather slowly and gradually as I took a few teetering steps in the direction of experiencing more of life's real stuff. With every step, the scenes in my head got less interesting and my life more appealing. Years later, I can say that I truly enjoy the life I am living. I’ve done things that scare me, many times over. I have jumped into the proverbial cold water, felt the ice numb my very bones, and decided to keep swimming until the water got refreshing!

Life is an amazing adventure. I truly believe it is so if you choose to embrace it and go all in. Here's to the amazing gift called life.