Not Afraid to Risk

Getting stuck. I would suspect that each one of us feels "stuck" at some point in life. If we are self-aware. If we are conscious about our journey.

Recently a friend of mine said her life needed a change. She was "stuck" with the changing laws of her state and unable to jump through the "hoops" she had to to remain independently employed.  She did her research and realized that there were no easy solutions. After much thought and deliberation, she decided to do the hard thing, to take a huge risk in order to find a better life. She did, and it was good.

I suspect that most of us come to a point (maybe even several times) in our lives when we feel "stuck," where there is no easy solution. It can be financial, as it was for my friend. It can be emotional. Or it can be spiritual. In any case, the problem is, where we are or what we have done up to now is not working.

It takes practice to take a risk. And in that, I think sometimes our faith works against us. I have seen a spirituality that encourages us to hand over our decision making, especially in spiritual matters, to those in the church. The message is we cannot be trusted, as if any mistake we might make would be catastrophic. Sad. Because to truly be on a journey means to take risks and knows mistakes. And a spiritual life that is not fraught with insecurities, disillusionment, and confusion offers little chance of practicing faith, hope and trust.

I hope to continue to take risks as I journey forward, to not be afraid to be on an unknown path, to be able to live with my fear until it changes into security.

I pray that you too will be willing to take the risks that you need to so that your life may be more full. May this be part of our new year 2016.