Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Do I Dare?

Editor's Note: I've decided to make Weigh-In Wednesday a monthly post rather than weekly. I just couldn't bear to get on the scale this morning. Moving on...
DARING - adventurous courage, boldness, fearless or intrepid
I've never really considered myself to be a daring person. I'm vanilla. A follower. However, I've always been in awe of daring people.
My grandma is daring. She's always been very outspoken, even from the early days of her youth when it wasn't exactly accepted for women to speak their minds. She let my Granddad "think" that he wore the pants in the family, but we all knew the truth. She's led the charge on travel adventures. She's been hang-gliding 3 times! She's fearless.
My little brother is daring. He left home to go to college in an unfamiliar city, many hours away. He's traveled to remote destinations that I can only hope to see in a National Geographic special. He found a great job and then asked for a promotion after only being there a short time. And he got it. He's bold and adventurous.
My girls are adventurous. Perhaps it's the gift of being young and without fear of danger. It's not knowing that jumping on the couch can result in falling and bumping your head on the floor. It's the curiosity of youth and experiencing new adventures. It's risking life and limb for the satisfaction of saying "I did it!" They are intrepid girls.
Once upon a time, I had a choice. Do I take that leap of faith or put my boldness back in my pocket for another day? I wore my fear on my sleeve as I weighed my options.

1-2-3...JUMP!

I need to remember sometimes that I DO have boldness. I CAN muster up that courage to try the unfamiliar. To experience a new adventure. To be an intrepid explorer. To be fearless. What a wonderful gift I can give to myself and my kids by being daring.

Are YOU daring?

13 comments:

Nik said...

What an AWESOME post! You're right though, not sticking your neck out there to try something out means you might miss out on a lot. There's not an infinite amount of time you CAN do it - you only live once.

BTW - look at those pictures again - that little girl taking a HUGE step to be daring...but the coloring on THIS monitor makes it look like there isn't any water in the pool (I know there is though). LOL Kind of changes the whole inspirational message though without water.

Rhea said...

Love the photos! That's YOU, right?!

Sometimes I'm daring, sometimes I'm not. But, I'd like to think I'm more daring than not...

Usually we are the only things holding ourselves back. :o)

Angela said...

I loved this post!! And yes, you CAN be daring. Hey, you led the charge into Blob's house that night!! I remember thinking Sharon was going to shoot us and all I could think was we'd be a sad story on the evening news, but you knew we could do it! And we did! See, you're all those things and more!

Lisa said...

Great post and awesome pictures.

I am so NOT daring. I prefer to follow and fade into the background. Yeah, Im a wuss and I admit it.

Shannon said...

No, I would not say that I am daring. (ok, I just asked Shane if he thought I was and he said definitely NOT!)

Great photos!

Shannon said...

Oh, and I hope I didn't keep you out too late last night!

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

Daring? Not so much. I'm a wannabe. I like the idea of it. Just not the actual execution. Hmmm...a Fruedian slurp perhaps.

But, really, it's all a matter of perspective. Some might consider speaking in front of 8000 people daring. I loved it. Others think it's bold to homeschool. For us, it was just the right thing to do.

Perspective is a peculiar thing.

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

Did I dazzle you with my brilliance?

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

And I want to be sure that you are feeling the comment love. Because I had over 100 comments this morning from the three people vying for the top spot on my blog. Shannon is losing out over there. But I don't want her to think of challenging me here :-)

Jyl @ MommyGossip said...

Just saw you over on Sunshine & Lemonade and thought I'd drop by to say hey!

And, in answer to your question... I don't see myself as daring at all. I mean, I can walk up to any stranger and start a conversation, which is daring--or stupid--to some. But, if it comes to skiing or anything athletic really, I SUCK! And, I think my oldest is following in my lead and because he is a boy it kinda freaks me out for him. I wish I were a bungie jumping kind of gal, but that just isn't me!

Glad to have dropped by!

Unknown said...

Cute pictures... I have the same shot of Dane jumping.... love it.

I would say I am pretty daring on most things... I have moved to foreign countires several times without knowing anyone or the language... I think I have become less daring/risk taking after I had children though.. great post!

Michelle said...

Oh, I love it! The pictures are classic. So what's new for you on the bold and daring front now that you remember you have it in you?

Sweetie Pieties said...

What a fantastic post! I loved it! I have concluded that I wish I was daring, but alas I'm not so much of a daredevil.

 

Blog Designed by: NW Designs