As I watched, it stretched its neck, ever so gracefully upwards. . .
Reaching for the tender leaves hanging down.
The word vulnerable came to mind and I wondered. . .
Where are you not stretching? Not reaching for the tenderest, juiciest leaves (your dreams)?
Where are you waiting…
– for someday
– for the right moment
– for the leaves to drop
Why not reach up?
Way up.
Stick your neck out.
S T R E T C H .
And go for what you want.
You’ve nothing to lose.
You don’t have what you want now.
“It’s silly to be afraid that you’re not going to get what you want if you ask. Because you are already not getting what you want.” – Marcia Martin
Silly you.
Tell me:
What is just out of reach?
What’s the cost of not stretching?
Sandi,
I’ve missed your thoughtful writing!
Stretching? There’s so much to say about that. I can have really bad days (yesterday) when I wonder if I’m really connecting and making a difference. Those days are awful! But I can say that the times I’ve felt most alive are when I’m also the most vulnerable and unsure. It’s easy to think that there will be a perfect time or that someday you’ll be better prepared to stick your neck out. But so much time will have been wasted. I think that my greatest setback is not offering everything I have right now because I assume that later I’ll have more (knowledge, experience, courage, etc) and it’ll come off better. I’m doing my best to go forward with what life has to offer whether or not I feel up to it or good enough.
Thanks for being here! And for showing me how to take a break when life needs you for other things!
Betsy
Isn’t it ironic that we try so hard to stay safe in the comfort zone when as you say, feeling most alive comes from those times of vulnerability and uncertainty?
More and more I believe you have to offer everything you have right now because that’s where the juice in life is. Waiting, planning, perfecting are dry in comparison.
Four years ago I had hip replacement surgery that got infected — five operations later I am left with some significant (at least in my eyes) limitations. A couple of months ago, I decided I didn’t want those limitations any longer, and so I went to physical therapy. And guess what I had to do most to get past those limitations? Stretch. 🙂 See? Your post is perfect, Sandi!
And I’m amazed at the progress I’ve made in a short 8 weeks. I now have hope that some of my dreams will come true — like putting on a sock and shoe without assistance from a device or a person, like soaking in a tub and getting up and out again safely, like weeding a garden, like walking up and down steps without a cane.
These are not most people’s dreams. Most people take their ability to do these things for granted. But these are some of my dreams. And I’m learning how to make them come true — by making small but consistent effort each day, by stretching myself significantly but not to the point of pain, by being patient, by being prudent but not fearful, by trusting the process and most especially myself.
I think the dynamics are the same, no matter what part of ourselves we’re stretching, don’t you?
The key is to get comfortable with discomfort, both metaphorically and physically. When we push past that discomfort, stretching little by little but more each time, we start to see the results you’re talking about Carol. The challenge is to give up looking for the quick fix and magic pill!
You’re so right, Sandi. I like to call the magic pill the magic bullet because I’m really into super duper quick fixes! 🙂 And isn’t our pursuit of the quick fix and the magic pill the result of our magical thinking?