I love Sunset Beach…
Went to the flea market this weekend and forgot the camera, but that was a voyeur report at every turn. What a fun impulsive first!!
It made me think of this story. Did you know that people really do train fleas for flea circuses? Fleas can jump over 100 times their height, but if they are kept in a box or aquarium, they learn not to jump higher than the height of their habitat. After bumping their heads a few times, they stop jumping. You can remove the lid and never again will they jump out of the box. If you think about it, people do the same thing sometimes. We get our egos bruised, our hearts broken, or try for that promotion and fail. And then some of us just give up. Some people decide they don’t want to bump their heads anymore. They could meet the right one, be perfect for that promotion…whatever it may be, but pass it by. All because they are convinced that -This is it. That what they have is all they deserve, and dreaming is futile.
I hear this common thread in many of my conversations with people everyday. Even the most emboldened, powerful, intellectual people I know have fears that limit them. “I’m too old, too fat, too young, don’t have the money, the education, the smarts, the time.” Whatever the insecurity, we need to take the tape out we still have playing from parents, former lovers/partners, bosses…and write a new story with affirming messages.
My bosses two word memoir is “I can”. This is from a woman who has definitely had to earn her place at the table. Short, African American, Lesbian…nothing could stop her. She grew up with a single mother in the projects of Sarasota (yes, they have more than beaches there). She helped raise 5 siblings, while her mom worked three jobs. She worked in a tomato factory as a young child and although she was too short to reach the conveyor belt, she learned to stand on a chair and became the fastest sorter they had. She put herself through college, and has been employed by some of the best organizations in the country, doing innovative work. Now at 51, CEO. SHE CAN, because she believes she can. And she is right, she can do anything.
Monika heard a man say to a woman at Starbucks the other day, “True love means taking the big risk. And you-you are the only person I am willing to risk anything for.” Wow, what a glimpse of humanity to be able to share. He is definitely taking the leap, his box has no lid. The beauty is- we are smarter than fleas. Our past does not have to dictate our future. We don’t have to stay stuck in a box. And the man at Starbucks is right-risks are involved. Annie Dillard once said, “If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business, because we’d be too cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.”
So, I’m thinking about what I want. I refuse to believe the lid is on the box. Cause one thing is for sure, I am getting older. It seems in the last few weeks, the universe keeps whispering…telling me “Don’t Wait, Live Now, Stay Hungry.” I hear you, I am listening. I’m jumping, and I’ll trust that I can build my wings on the way down.
What are you willing to risk? Who is the one that inspires you to take the leap? What’s the worst thing that can happen?
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