*via anyjazz65
I've been musing on the words "potential" and "possibility". As I've grown older, I've lost the sense of magical possibility, a feeling of doors still waiting to be opened.
I remember the first day of school every year I wondered who I might meet - a best friend, a whole coterie of best friends, a cute boy or a whole row of them? Would I like French class? Fail Algebra? Get cast in the school play? Get asked to the dance? What might happen? I felt the same sensation on birthdays and New Year's Eve. A year stretched ahead of me where ANYTHING could happen.
And many things did happen... Interesting people, travel to exotic places, secret admirers, embarrassing moments.
But as I've gotten older my life seems so stable. Stability is a wonderful thing. I'm hardly complaining about the fact that I've lived in the same place for eight years. I hate moving. I wouldn't trade my wonderful husband for all the first dates and pickup lines in the world. And my steady job? I'm grateful for it.
But with so much stability, I sometimes miss that sense that anything could happen, that suddenly I could turn a corner and some magical new development would appear.
So I've started thinking about spending my time and money on things that present possibilities. Like going to a writers meetup or workshop where I might meet other writers and make an amazing new connection. Taking an online course like Declaration of You! Writing a book, opening up the possibility of having a book published. Traveling, opening up the possibility of seeing new places. Taking a crafty or artsy class, opening up the possibility of discovering a new passion and meeting new friends. Blogging, sharing what I love and opening up the possibility of meeting others on the same wavelength.
There are many things I do that don't open up possibilities. Buying a new outfit or redecorating a room is nice and I would certainly enjoy it. But it doesn't open up possibilities. Cleaning my house is rewarding. But no possibilities. Watching tv is a nice way to veg, but also no possibilities.
So as I think about where my life energy goes, I want to make sure that I invest some of it in opening up possibilities and bringing a little of that childlike magic back.
What about you? Do you ever feel this way? What do you do to open up that door of possibility?
Ooh, I just love this. It's interesting to think of how, as a kid, EVERYTHING was a possibility, but as an adult....you have to force it! Makes me think of committing to one new thing each and every month to try, just for the possibility...
ReplyDeleteI have begun to do something completely new and different at least a few times each month to open up possibilities galore... meeting new people, new experiences, new places, new things, new interests. Though stability is nice and "safe", a sense of adventure makes one feel so alive and that is priceless!
ReplyDeleteDawn... The Bohemian
Possibilities! Yes!
ReplyDeleteI relish the things that make me think!
Fine post.
This is so true! As you get older it is harder to get a sense of possibilities. I've managed it in some ways by having adventures with my husband. These have involved ivf, having a baby, travel and a business start up. My latest adventure is challenging an increasingly distressing phobia via CBT and I'm having another ivf baby in May. Good luck with your adventures!!
ReplyDeleteI think this is such a powerful way to think about how we want to choose to spend our time and money and how we direct the course of our lives. And think about what an interesting life you're going to have if you're constantly on the lookout for new possibilities! Sounds good to me. You're inspiring me to look for a class to take that's out of my normal realm of day to day stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love this post; I get what you're saying (though I'm fresh out of college so that worries me a bit...hm...) But I'm looking for possibilities. Looking for ideas of what to do with my life, since a BA in English can be turned into any number of futures. I'm so glad you commented on my blog, because finding a post like this is the sort of something I've been looking around for lately.
ReplyDelete