Cautious vs Risky

Some of us live a cautious life and some of us live on the edge. There is nothing wrong with either of these, unless we take it to the extreme.

Those of you who know me, in a personal setting, will know all too well that I have lived a seemingly cautious life. I’ve always steered clear of that challenge that would push me just a little too far outside my comfort zone, always wondering about the ‘what ifs’, what others will think and is it save.

It is seldom that I just let my hair down without weighing up the possible consequences, but there are those times, rare I know, but there are those brief moments some of you have been lucky enough to see. Those moments where I just let my guard down and have fun, where I am a spontaneous queen with some tricks up my sleeve, those moments where I forget about who might be around watching. But for those of you, who have not seen that side of me, know me to be the cautious one, sometimes even too cautious.

Most of the time I don’t mind being the cautious one, being teased for being the planner or the mother hen, but just sometimes I wish I felt safe enough to just let go. To have someone else worry about the consequences, deal with the fall-out; ensure everyone stays save, that everyone is happy. For once I would like to be the one who is reckless, even if just for one night. Don’t get me wrong, by reckless I don’t mean doing something illegal or dangerous, just clean, flirty, risky fun with friends I love and trust.

So this year I have decided that I am a young, single woman and I should be out there doing all the things I dream about doing instead of putting them on a bucket list for a rainy day. I’ve ‘sacrificed’ three years getting my Diploma, five years growing in my career while spending two years finishing my Degree. I’ve reached my first milestone, my five year goal, now before I determine the next one I have decided to spend some time developing my life outside of work. Work will stay a priority but it won’t be my sole priority. I’m taking time out to find my own priorities while I still have the time and energy to do so.

I’m pushing those boundaries, seeing how far I can go, what I can achieve on a personal level. I’m planning my first trip abroad, I’m making plans to see our own country, I’m venturing out on my own, no longer afraid of being "alone", I’m having fun and I’m throwing some of that caution to the wind. I’m doing things for myself, putting myself ahead for the first time, I’m exploring the part of myself I have kept hidden from the world.

I’m having fun as I discover new things I like, new things I want to try, new places to go and meeting new people along the way.

So look out world, here I come and you better be ready.

One Hand Clapping Could Uniting a Nation

The sound of one hand clapping, it can be a lonely sound as it echoes into thin air…but one hand clapping could start a nation clapping in unison.

How often do we not say to ourselves, “one person can’t fix that” or “one person can’t change this”. Well no, one person can’t, but if one person started, a second will follow, then a third, then a fourth and so it grows. One candle lights another until an entire room is lit up with beautiful candles. A lonely candle has the power to burn down an entire house. Imagine what one lonely clapping of hands could do in a nation ready and needing to unite.

We need to start clapping our hands, demand to be heard and to be noticed. We all have that something bugging us, chewing us up inside. So make a decision today to change, to start clapping, to start making a difference by taking the lead. Be that lonely candle that fights the breeze, trying to stay alight.

Light draws like-minded people and soon you won’t be a lonely candle anymore. Clap your hands so others may hear what you have to say or take note of what you are trying to achieve. You’ll soon be clapping a song with thousands of others.

The sound of one hand clapping could get a nation united, clapping in unison to fight against the evils of the world. It all starts with one…

Wanting a Witness

Recently I had coffee with a good friend whom I hadn’t seen in a while since we live in two different cities. It was such a treat to sit down and chat about life, love and things in general as we enjoyed a cup of coffee. What our little reunion did, was wake us up to the fact that many of us yearn to have that best friend who has your back, who listens to you until three in the morning, cries with you over something silly, a friend who is brave and honest enough to tell you ‘that pants just doesn’t fit anymore’.

Life has just became too focused on winning that rat race that we have lost sight of the small things in life which we should treasure. We take for granted the small blessings in our lives and focus on the big things that we seem to think will truly fulfill us. Who are we kidding?

Today more and more of us just realize that time is passing us by and instead of being out there meeting new people, enjoying a hobby, a sport or spending quality time with friends and family, we are doing one of two things. We are either putting in those extra hours at the office and for what? To make someone else’s company successful? To make them rich while we sacrifice our personal lives? If not at the office, we are at home on the couch, our lazy, comfort zone where we spend most of our time off. We are wasting precious time we cannot get back, it’s lost and we will never have that moment again.

Get out of the office, get off that couch, go out there, meet new friends, do something extraordinary for yourself and start living your life. Life your life so others would want to be part of it, that they would want to witness your life.

If you are one of the lucky few who have found a life-time best friend then I hope you treasure her (or him in some cases). If you have family that love and accept you as you are, with all your faults and quirks, be grateful for them. We all want to find that special person (or persons) who will be a witness to our lives, who is there to share the high and the low notes. We all want our lives to matter, to be remembered for something good, but to do that we need to stop from time to time to take in the small, precious things in life.

Stop the rat race, enjoy life and do it with someone who can be your witness.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost...

Since the day we were born we have been following a path, a path that has lead us to where we are today. But along that path there have been many detours, stop streets, roundabouts and forks in the road. So we wander, but we’re not lost, just simply trying to find our next path.

On the journey of life we have all wandered from one path to the next trying to find the one that fits best, that will take us further or hold the most adventures. Some of us tend to stick to the easy, short paths and others dare to dream by taking the challenge that lies within the harder, longer paths.

We’ve all got our own roadmaps and directions, but are those who are wandering lost? Not all of us are born knowing exactly where we are going and how we are going to get there, some of us need to take some wrong paths, take a few detours or just hang around a bit while we decide on our next move. So those wandering aren’t always lost, but just doing some sightseeing as they wait for the next set of directions.

The higher you go, the further you fall…

Each day we spend time trying to climb that ladder, be it the corporate ladder, the personal ladder, fitness or social ladder, we’re all climbing. But what happens when you reach the top of that 100 foot pole?

So you’ve reached the top, congratulations on your achievement! A lot of your success will determine on how you reached that goal.

I guess if you’ve worked your way up there, kept to your morals, values and standards, you’ve left “steps” behind you, shorter poles that have plotted the way as you’ve journeyed up the ladder. You’ve worked hard to earn what you were given, you’ve made connections, hopefully you haven’t burnt too many bridges as you were climbing, so there will be people to remind you of where you have come from and how to get back to your ‘roots’ should that be needed from time to time. You’re not alone, you have friends and colleagues who have climbed with you, they might be a pole below you but they are right there to support and keep you grounded, you know you can lean on them if your pole starts to tilt and they’ll help you straighten up again.

But what if you are one of those misfortunate people who have stepped on a few friends and colleagues to get to the top? You’ll have a panoramic view from up there but you’ll have no friends to share the success with, it will truly turn into a very lonely perch. How do you step back down from that 100 foot pole when you have burnt your support system?

It is true, the higher you go, the further you will fall, so it is important that you remember who (and what) helped you get there. Remember at all times not to burn the bridges you cross today, because you just might need to cross back over in the future.