There is a time to be cautious, and there is a time to be audacious. We are living in times with everything on all sides seemingly up for grabs, even more so than usual. Everyone is trying to figure out how best to navigate these unusual waters. We can contrast these times to other times in history but there really is nothing that seems like a good fit for comparison. Even wanting to think about making decisions with seven future generations in mind, doing that is not that much help because of the speed at which so much is changing. Like it or not, there is no returning to the past, and the future is as unknown and foreign as what resides in the depths of the dark dark sea (though submersibles are giving us some amazing first looks at that world).
What people believe and perceive is front and center these days. It seems everyone is clinging very tenaciously to their corner of interpretation of events and unfoldings. There seems to be so much riding on being right about any given viewpoint. But maybe certainty is not what we need at all
As I observe my grand daughter explore (see picture), what strikes me is that she ventures forth not even knowing where she is going or what she will find or expects to find. Nor does she have a strong identity invested in who she thinks she is as the explorer. She just follows her spirit. Turns out, her spirit is very wise. It doesn't fill her with apprehension which in turn leaves much room for instinct and intuition and imagination. . . all those "i" words. Even more to the point, her adventures fulfill her.
Since we are living in such adventurous times, which we most surely are, maybe a little more audacity is called for. Since we cannot know much of anything with certainty, and since we all have all kinds of abilities to move spontaneously into the next moment, free of planning, maybe including more of that in our daily choices turns out to be a pragmatic thing we could do. Flashes of brilliance usually occur instantaneously without knowing they are about to happen. We just need to make a space for what lurks beneith all of our carefulness and come out of hiding and surprise ourselves with how good we suddenly feel, and how alive, when we dare to be . . . audacious!
What people believe and perceive is front and center these days. It seems everyone is clinging very tenaciously to their corner of interpretation of events and unfoldings. There seems to be so much riding on being right about any given viewpoint. But maybe certainty is not what we need at all
As I observe my grand daughter explore (see picture), what strikes me is that she ventures forth not even knowing where she is going or what she will find or expects to find. Nor does she have a strong identity invested in who she thinks she is as the explorer. She just follows her spirit. Turns out, her spirit is very wise. It doesn't fill her with apprehension which in turn leaves much room for instinct and intuition and imagination. . . all those "i" words. Even more to the point, her adventures fulfill her.
Since we are living in such adventurous times, which we most surely are, maybe a little more audacity is called for. Since we cannot know much of anything with certainty, and since we all have all kinds of abilities to move spontaneously into the next moment, free of planning, maybe including more of that in our daily choices turns out to be a pragmatic thing we could do. Flashes of brilliance usually occur instantaneously without knowing they are about to happen. We just need to make a space for what lurks beneith all of our carefulness and come out of hiding and surprise ourselves with how good we suddenly feel, and how alive, when we dare to be . . . audacious!
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