This week’s post on Vocal
On the road less traveled, life becomes an adventure. We spend so much time planning to live that we miss the opportunity to experience our existence on our terms.
https://motivation.media/life-isn-t-meant-to-be-straight-lines
In Alberta, we are on the cusp of an election campaign where predictably freedom will be a buzzword; where each party has their own conception of how freedom is represented in society.
One side sees that freedom is freedom from interference, You are free to do what you want, where and when you want without interference from authorities. I have free speech so no one should interfere with my exercising it. The sentiment seems reasonable and I subscribe to a personal responsibility mantra but absolution from actions that impact others feels wild west. The pendulum swings from laissez-faire to over-regulated without pausing long enough to test a stasis of acceptable accommodation.
The other side talks about freedom to act with free will. In the west, most of us have more personal freedom that royalty had 200 years ago. Economic and cultural shifts have afforded us with almost unbridled liberty – or so it seems. But if I don’t have economic means and opportunity, education, aptitude, or connections then I fall into servitude and those freedoms are out of reach, Authorities promoting positive freedom also promote institutional and legal frameworks to attempt to mitigate the disparity.
Again the application swings wildly and we move from ‘pulling yourself up’ to ‘ you aren’t capable so we need to protect you’. Neither seems effective or fair.
For me, freedom is an ongoing experiment where we use reasonable accommodation, meritocracy, empathy, and limited rules to make the application of liberty equitable. Where I need a hand, one is available. Where I expect too much based on someone else driving a Lamborghini, I am advised that isn’t reasonable. There isn’t/shouldn’t be hard and fast one-size-fits-all rules.
B
When we play everything safely, are we lengthening mediocre existence? Is adding days to our lives what is important? Should we be taking some chances and adding life to our days?
I suppose just by asking that question; I am exposing my bias. I believe we should step over the imaginary line every chance that we get. I am not suggesting skydiving but not ruling it out.
Every day, I am presented with opportunities, most of them free, that challenge my public circle of comfort. I meet new people who are trying new things when I go to places that aren’t my regular haunts. My views are stretched by reading authors and magazines that don’t fit my usual library. If I have the opportunity to walk alongside someone who I disagree with and ask lots of clarifying questions, I get to see the world from a different viewpoint.
On days that I don’t feel like riding my bike, I try to ride it 5 km further to see what is on the other side of my destination. If I am feeling rushed, I try to slow down and breathe more deeply. When I am anxious, I make space to step away rather than instinctively charge ahead.
I swing on swings and slide down slides whenever the opportunity appears. I play with children and ask questions of older strangers. I present ridiculously impossible queries to friends and colleagues and attempt to leave my preconditioned bias outside the discussion.
On frigid days or muggy summer afternoons, I agnostically spend time in the elements appreciating whatever is presented rather than surrendering to the inertia of excuses to stay inside.
Taking risks is about embracing a small unknown nugget and accepting what follows. When we do anything for the first time, we receive a little prospect of unexpected. I always feel something when my boundaries are poked. I am better for new experiences even when they don’t seem favorable.
Convenience and comfort are poor metrics for a life lived well. Limiting what we hear, say, do and who we live life with reduces the quality of our existence.
Disclaimer “Don’t ever, even as a joke, put your head in a lion’s mouth” but when you are presented with the prospect of seeing a lion, I recommend spending some time watching her behavior. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned.
A compilation of daily thoughts.
When wrestling with a decision, think for yourself, not about yourself. #thoughtfortoday
InTELLegence is recognized in the acquisition and understanding of knowledge, not in the telling to make others look small. #learn #listen #thought4today
Every morning you have two choices, continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase them. #tought4today
Attempt to be radically and unreasonably patient, today, and see what happens. #though4today
If we are unable to fit others into our worldview, do they become invisible or vilified? #thought4today
A bee won’t directly benefit from the honey she makes; instead, it will allow future generations to thrive after she is gone. #thought4today
Being a citizen (someone who is a dweller of the land) should invoke a sense of community, connectivity, and responsibility. #thought4today
The message is magnified when it is shared by hundreds. #makemeaning #becourageous #thought4today
Does avoiding awkward situations or absolving yourself of responsibility fit with the view you have of yourself. #thought4today
Is our collective memory fading after only a few years? Does it matter? #thought4today #JohnLennon
Do you ever wake up wishing you were somewhere else? What is stopping you? #thought4today
Gravity is the most impactful force in our universe and yet we ignore it almost all the time. #thought4today
Gratitude is the second most powerful force in our lives and we ignore and reject it in favor of negativity. #thought4today #begrateful
Economic prosperity and social prosperity need to be synced in order to build diverse and robust communities. #thought4today
Each day I get to choose between words that inspire and words that intimidate. #thought4today
Our belief in ourselves and others impacts the outcome. If you think you can, you are more likely to succeed. #thought4today
Hope isn’t a strategy but no strategy can succeed without hope. #thought4today
My imagination isn’t limited by my circumstances. #thoughtfortoday
In our most awkward moments, we have the opportunity to be the most authentic. #thought4today #askanawkwardquestion
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder where does unattractiveness reside? #thought4today #seebeauty
The first small step is just a first small step, but the second and third and … are what propels movement. #thought4today
It feels good to do good, so make this Feel Good Friday. #fgf #thought4today
Playing an active role in your community makes the nearly impossible idea of democracy possible.
Maybe, sometimes I’m wrong, but I’m wrong sincerely. #thought4today #confession
I find myself increasingly perplexed by Artifical intelligence but even more perplexed by the politic of the world. #thought4today
If we continue to manage social issues, social issues manage to continue. #thought4today #findsolutions
Kind words can dampen the fire of anger. #thought4today
Make It Your Problem 