Take a breath and fall...

I've said in several previous blogs that fear of the unknown can keep you from trying, from taking that next step. No one wants to get burned again after feeling the pain of a broken heart. How do you know when you want to let someone else in? How can you be sure they won't hurt you just like you've been hurt in the past? The truth is that you don't - you can't be certain. Placing trust in another, especially in matters of the heart, puts you in a very vulnerable position. When you extend trust in someone, you can simply hope that they will be true to their word. Some are, some aren't. That's just a simple fact of life. The only certainty that we have in this life is death. I realize that sounds grim, but really, that's about the only that you can bet will happen. Anything else, all the in between, is based on how you live the life you were given. Want to stay safe? Then stay on the bench, watching life pass you by from the sidelines. Want to take a chance and have the possibility of greatness? Take a deep breath and jump off the high dive.

There is nothing in life quite like the feeling you get from a free fall. No parachute, no safety net, just the desire to experience something wonderful. For most of us, our friends and family serve as a safety of sorts if we slam into the ground, helping us tend to our wounds and gently nudge us back out there. I am fortunate to have this net. But regardless of who will help you back up, it is still you that must take the initiative to live life. To take chances on love. To let people in after you have been closed off to the mere thought of someone truly caring for you. Want big rewards? Then you have to take big risks. You can't end up being one of the "lucky ones" if you are too scared to try again after your first (or second, or third) attempt crashed and burned. Fall down seven times...get up eight.

Failures and disappointment can serve as two of life's greatest teachers. You can listen to the advice of others, even try to learn from their mistakes, but the only ones that will really open your eyes are the ones you make. The pain you feel. Your personal experience. But, in my opinion, the worst thing you can do is close yourself off and be too afraid to try again. So you gave someone chance after chance to be good to you, to treat you like you deserve to be treated, and they destroyed you. Here's my response to that...THEIR LOSS!! If someone doesn't see you as amazing and important and beautiful, why waste your time, your heart, your love on them? There are billions of people in this world, and I promise, more than a handful will think you are pretty freaking awesome. Moving past heartache takes time and the time needed is different for everyone. Some need years, others need just a moment, or a single event, to bring them back. No matter the time it takes for you, once you reach it, you will know. You will know when you are ready to open your heart again, to take chances again.

Life isn't over until you quit breathing, your heart stops beating, and your body ceases to function. While some experiences may feel like this, you are still alive now. You are still breathing now. While your heart may hurt from time to time, it still beats. So, take time to learn from what went wrong, stand back up, dust yourself off, and step back up to the ledge.