Convert Curiosity
When I was a kid growing up in Africa
I dreamed about going on adventures.
After school
I would remove my shirt and shoes
Run outside in my khaki shorts
BB gun and pocket knife by my side
I would make a fire
And proceed to walk through the jungle (my backyard) in search of whatever adventure arose
I would stalk Vervet monkeys
Munch of mulberries
Maybe even wade into the pond and try catch fish
(I don’t know how many times those poor goldfish had to deal with me chasing them around)
This…
This is how I wanted to life to be
This is how I expected it to be
Michael, The Explorer
The next adventure
The next person to learn from
The next track to follow
No idea where it was going to lead me
But being brave enough to follow my curiosity
Despite the fear and danger of booby traps and lions
(The booby traps were set by me, and the nearest lions were at least 45 minutes away from where I lived)
But when I woke up as an adult
There was a difference between my expectations and the reality I was living
I still had those dreams, desires of adventure, and urges to follow my curiosity
But I wasn’t acting on them
The gap between those two worlds felt vast
One world of adventure, exhilaration, terror, growth, learning, love, joy, courage
One world of predictability, staleness, boredom
Don’t get me wrong - I love times of predictability, routine and plateaus
But I wanted the balance
The dichotomy
The plateau juxtaposed with growth
The stillness juxtaposed with action
The concrete juxtaposed with mud
The order juxtaposed with chaos
And I was at the point where plateaus felt lonely without the balance of the other side
I munched on this
Sat down with a guide I really trusted
And spoke about the vast gap between those two places
And what I found…
Was that the gap wasn’t as large as I initially though
In fact
It was tiny
A single stepping stone in a small puddle
Or a little jump across a small stream
One little stepping stone
One little thing
One, simple action
Was all I needed to bridge those two worlds
Examples?
Send that message
Write that email
Book those dates in the calendar
Ask that question
Say that thing out loud
Cross the street
Follow that sign
Let my body lead
Walk out the door
What’s my point?
Convert curiosity into action
Sending hugs
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