monday's mantra: throw off the bowlines!
twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. sail away from the safe harbor. catch the trade winds in your sails. explore. dream. discover.
-- mark twain
once upon a time ... back when i had my 9-5 job ... a desk and an office ... and no gray hair ... i had this quote framed and hung in my office. it was there to remind me every day not to get stuck in my routine and venture outside those 4 walls that i spent so many hours inside of.
these days, my schedule is more flexible and my time is less set. i have long since forgotten the quote that i used to daily evoke.
didn't think i had to remember. i was wrong.
seems with age and gray hair, i have allowed myself to become lulled (and dulled?) into a routine as rigid as the box i once spent my days.
my excuse? after 40 some odd years, i know what i like. i know what i'm good at. i've found what works for me. blah blah blah.
so when my friend invited me to go x-country skiing during our recent snowpocalypse, i reacted a bit dubiously: i've never been on skis.
i know, i know. hard to believe. with a husband who learned to ski in austria at age 16 and a house in montana, you would think at some point i would've become interested to learn.
but no. and the longer i've gone without, the more extreme the thought had become.
with a little coaxing, i joined my friend on a snow covered golf course for my very first lesson. awkwardly, i learned to move my feet in a way i was unaccustomed. i fell a few times and learned that was not near as troublesome as trying to get back up! and i felt the fear and thrill of coasting down hills - followed by the realization that i had not yet mastered the art of stopping.
it was exhilarating! and frankly, i may be the only one around hoping for another fresh dusting just so my girlfriend and i can hit the trail once more. and my eager husband is now planning a winter trip to montana for all of us to venture into yellowstone, perhaps.
i have discovered a new world. i'm ready to leave safe harbor - doing something i'd once only dreamt of. and now that i've thrown off the bowlines ... i'm truly ready to explore.
are you feeling a bit stuck? join me in sailing from safe harbor and try something new!
* a ship in the harbor is safe . . . but that’s not what ships are built for *Share on Facebook
Posted by peg mulqueen at 2/15/2010 8:11 AM 
Categories: facing fear,life lessons,friendship,monday's mantra
Tags: x-country skiing snowpocalypse 2010 monday mantra
Categories: facing fear,life lessons,friendship,monday's mantra
Tags: x-country skiing snowpocalypse 2010 monday mantra
so true, peggy! thanks for sharing!
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Oh Peg, perfect once again. I spent the weekend in discomfort - wondering if I should just go back to skis because after two seasons of snowboarding, I'm getting left in the dust by the rest of my family who isn't afraid to go fast on the bigger slopes. I get angry when I can't get past my fear fast enough to be right by their side. Angst to 'get there faster' is my pattern in anything new that I try; I need to go back to the exhilaration of why I tried it in the first place and center in how far I've come.
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dude - you are soooo my hero and inspiration! snowboarding may have to be next on my list! however . . . i suppose we must remember, the saying says to sail from harbor - not race from it! haha! i'm happy to know you've come back in one piece and see you next week!
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