shared wisdom.

My friend Mary Beth...She is lovely and wise. She is also a light, and has taken risks with her life that have not only been beneficial for her, but also, all of the things and people involved in the full life she lives. She said this the other day:

"If you don't try there is a chance it may never happen."

And, of course, duh. Right? But for some reason the statement carries more weight coming from someone that I know has, in fact, tried.

And when I say this statement to myself, it gets me excited for the possibilities that gain a glimpse of visibility. I don't, as a habit, make resolutions when the new year begins, on the principal that if something in my life needs to change, I want to be as aware of needed change on August the twenty-sixth as I am on December 31st. But sometimes, an awareness of needed change happens to fall at the turn of a new year, and in this case, decade.

Right before the old year turned new, a friend so eloquently informed me that "you love change and excitement, but you are not a true risk taker". Oh the joy of having honest friends. This statement, and the remainder of the email that accompanied it, helped open my head to some of the things in my habits and thinking that truly did need to change. Appropriately and timely, my "new year's resolution" for two-thousand-and-ten was officially to "take more risks".

I referenced my friend Bruce in my last post. We are at completely different places in life, came from completely different decades and upbringings and have very little in common on a practical level, but there is a kindredness that cannot be denied. During one conversation, I drew a picture of a thought with very little words to explain the issue and he just nodded in understanding. Bruce has lived in Italy, killed sharks on the coast of Miami for bounty, and is currently going through chemo-therapy for lung cancer. He has sported a classy silver ponytail for years, but cut it all off before the effects of radiation did it for him. When I told him of the goings on in my life, he gave me a loud amen, and then said, so appropriately..."Let me tell you something," as he turned to me with body language that informed me what he was about to say needed more weight than a slouched posture would provide..."I have lived a lot of years and done a lot of things and the one thing I have learned: turn up the volume".

Try, take more risks, turn up the volume. I get it, I get it. I am trying. The rest of my friend's statement in the revealing email: "a risk is only a risk if its something you personally fear losing". So that's the rest of it. The excitement that accompanies added possibilities that come from trying, taking more risks, and turning up the volume, is also joined by a greater possibility for things lost, foolishness felt, and pain experienced.

And so, I raise my imaginary glass to Mary-Beth, Amelia, and Bruce, for their shared experiences and offerings of wisdom to inspire needed change, and the guarantee that though my two-thousand-and-ten will certainly not be pain free, it will be full.