Thursday, January 28, 2010

Living

Some people float through life like jellyfish. They let life happen to them. They find it perplexing that anyone would grab hold of destiny and steer it in another direction. These people would much rather stay in a miserable situation, bellyaching their days away, than take a step off the ledge into anything unknown. Most of them are unable to see past the tips of their noses, and they feel perfectly safe and snug in their tiny life-bubbles. Those are the people who find it "brave" to venture out into the abyss without a safety net.

I find myself drawn to people who aren't afraid of change, who chase down what they want out of life, who don't make me feel like a deviant for my choices. Those are the magnetic, amusing, refreshing people, the people with a panoramic perspective, the people who don't find change "brave," but fundamental - as necessary as the air they breathe.

I recently found out that a friend accepted a job that will require a move from New York to California. He didn't even blink - this is his dream job. I have friends that would scoff at such a decision. I'm ecstatic for him, and anyone who knows me can attest that in his position, I wouldn't have hesitated for an instant. Opportunity doesn't come knocking. You have to seize it.

I've been called a wanderer, a lost soul, and a nomad, but I believe I simply haven't found what I'm looking for. And I refuse to settle for anything else. In the mean time, my life is dynamic and surprising. Tomorrow is unpredictable and full of mystery, not foreseeable and mundane. I can't imagine forgoing those untethered leaps. That is foreign to me. I never know how to respond when people call my choices "brave." There are brave people in this world, but I don't equate fearlessness with things like living lean, moving alone, or changing jobs. Finding your way through the darkness, not flinching at life's punches is...living. There is no other way.

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