Taking that Risk

Dear Friends,

My niece, nephew and I were at the National Zoo last weekend.  It was a spectacularly beautiful spring day to spend walking around the zoo…we rode the carousel, we ate some ice cream, we looked at the various animals.  While we were there, we had the privilege of seeing one of the orangutans walking the o-line.  If you haven’t been to this particular zoo, the o-line is two cables that connect towers between a couple of different ape enclosures.  The orangutans can move freely between said enclosures with the help of the o-line far above the ground…it’s a rare treat for me to see an orangutan on the o-line, so it really did feel like a privilege.

Now, this endeavor, moving between those two enclosures far above the earth, might feel perfectly safe to those orangutans, but it sure does feel risky to me the few times I’ve experienced them walking that o-line at the zoo.

I talked, last week, about the spaces in life that feel easy to take risks, and those spaces that feel a little harder, a little more scary to take risks..perhaps to put ourselves out there when things might not feel like a sure bet.  Those spaces are scary, when we don’t have that sure bet, but they are also spaces where, oftentimes, we learn and grow most rapidly.  They might not always feel easy, they might not be a sure bet, but I think when we’re willing to step out and stretch ourselves, and perhaps do those things that feel a little harder, there’s real potential for growth.

Just like those orangutans, taking a risk to move from one environment to another, sometimes we have to take a risk to bring about real and lasting change in our own lives…it might not be comfortable, it might be downright scary, but it gives us the potential for growth and change.

Have an amazing week, my friend.

Love
Krista