“Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive – the risk to be alive and express what we really are.”
Don Miguel Ruiz
This quote came through in an email I received, it was from a man who had just been through some big health challenges, where the fear of death was very present. Having come through it he was feeling a rush of energy and commitment to living his life to the full, I guess it was what we sometimes refer to as a wake up call. We’ve all had them, in a mythic story it’s known as ‘the call to action’ , in such tales our hero or heroine responds to the challenge and sets off on a journey of discovery. They meet allies along the way as well as new aspects of themselves and at the end of the story they come back triumphant to be acknowledged by their community.
Everyone has this opportunity at some stage in their lives, but how many actually grasp the chance with both hands and take the risk of being fully alive! It isn’t the easy choice, it will usually take you right out of your comfort zone, frighten the living bejesus out of you at times. But the alternative is to live in a comfortable mediocrity, always wondering what might have happened if you hadn’t been so scared.
One of the many good things I’ve found with getting older is that you care a lot less what other people think of you, makes risk taking a lot less riskier. My mother is a good example of this, at 71 she had her first ever art exhibition, and has been madly painting ever since. She sold some paintings at the exhibition but has a long way to go in order to be truly successful, and I am so delighted to see her determination to let nothing stand in her way.
Art by Cheryl Laizans.
Whether you achieve big successes with your dreams or not, the fact that you are following your heart is a recipe for a happy life. So don’t wait for life to trip you up and try to shake you awake, do it now, and now, and now!!
Just do it.
Through the Vortex 