Intelligent leaps of faith...

All my life I have gone by the motto of "Leap and the net will follow" but as the years roll on, it is getting increasingly and increasingly more difficult to buy into this motto anymore with gusto.
Perhaps it is trust, perhaps it is an absence of faith, perhaps it is moments of self-doubt. Whatever it is, I find that what I now invest in are more "intelligent leaps of faith".

It used to be that I was more spontaneous. There was many a night in college and beyond that I would leap at a road-trip, or to do something out of the ordinary. Staying up at all hours of the night, visiting, laughing, sharing hopes and dreams on the grass under the stars with friends. I want a little more of that back, purdy please?

Don't let it fool ya kids...there are times when adulthood SUCKS... Ha ha ha ha ha. All of life's responsibilities, the payments, the mortgages, the growing pains. So many times I hear from my returning students that being an adult is hard and all I can say is YEP. And yet, there are also things I wouldn't change ONE IOTA for. I would never want to go back to the gawkiness, the trying to figure out the way on my life's path, uneasiness of the future, wondering where that life will take me and what adventures I will experience...oh wait...that's now.

I am also finding that these days, many of my friends entering into their mid 40's are going through the exact sort of questioning period of their lives...is this where I want to be, what I want to be doing, where I should be going, what I wanted for my life and did I achieve it or do I have yet to reach this goal...Many are looking at their 40's and are having to deal and work their way through HUGE life challenges and I begin to ask myself, "Is this what the true mid-life crisis really is?"

I firmly believe that every moment, every adventure, every challenge, every hurdle is there for a reason. I think the mind shift from spontaneity to a more solid way of looking at things is important. Taking every hurdle ahead as a moment to stop, reassess, take in and work your way through every aspect of the "what-ifs" and "for-sures" is important and vital to moving forward.

I am where I am today because of my life's journey and what I have learned along the way. Every combo of each hurdle and life lesson is important. Many have opinions, many stick their noses in when it is not required, many have voiced these opinions coming from a place of what they would do...sometimes when they haven't been asked. I look at where I am, not as a negative, but as a positive and look forward with great eye-opening vision of what I have learned and could bring to other tables.

2016 is proving to be an exciting adventure. No one knows what the future holds or what is around that proverbial corner. But I do know that I will be looking at everything under a microscope and moving forward to the next adventure with a more solid firm grasp of who I am and what I want to be. And for that I am grateful.
For that I am thankful and in awe.
For that I am pumped and energized and forward thinking without hesitation and trepidation.

I am leaping thoughtfully!