July 30Step Aside
Amid the seeming confusion of our mysterious world individuals are so nicely adjusted to a system, and systems to one another and to a whole, that by stepping aside for a moment a person exposes themselves to a fearful risk of losing their place forever.
Nathaniel Hawthorne—Twice-Told Tales (1837)
Do you ever feel as though you're getting left behind? Or that if you fight through the fear and take a leap you'll never recover if you're wrong?
There is safety in safety yet rarely greatness or even much joy.
Your place is probably not where you are right now. Your job is to find that place, to break the system that wants you to stay in line even as your heart longs to step aside, even if just for a moment.
Think of your life as an experiment and, as Emerson said, “The more experiments you make the better.”
Challenge Question
- What sort of outrageous experiment could you try today?
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