Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Live on the Edge

Several years ago my mom gave me a little carved pewter circle that I carry with me daily. It is a reminder of how I want to live my life. It has a simple message 'Live on the edge'. Over the summer my Lead family would say 'if you aren't living on the edge, you are taking up too much space'. I have been fortunate in that I have been able to take risks in life, do things that scare me and push my limits. BUT, if you are living on the edge there are times when you can slip and fall. That is when you  truly learn the value of your life and the people in it. Sure, people can watch you while you teeter on the edge but it is those who are willing to come to the edge with you that matter. More importantly it is those who will hang over the edge when you slip and pull you back up that make life the best.

2013 was a year of living on the edge for me. At times it could be said that I was hanging off the ledge by my fingernails. During this time, I always had people willing to lay on the edge and hold my hand until I was able to get back up. They never let me free fall and I am so appreciative. It was a year of big adventures and monumental changes and I never felt like I was without my parachutes. Even if I were to let go and fall to the bottom I knew I would have a fall softened by love of those close to me. For all of you that watched me and walked with me (some of you literally walked for miles with me) I thank you. I feel like my feet are firmly back on solid ground but I will never let myself get too far from the edge. It is at the edge that you see the vast vistas of possibilities in life and from where I am now standing the view couldn't be more spectacular. 

“Come to the edge’, he said.
They said, ‘We are afraid’.
‘Come to the edge’, he said.
They came.
He pushed them…
And they flew.”
– Guillaume Apollinaire