When I was younger, I knew it had been a good day when I came in with dirt in my hair and grass stains on my knees. It meant I had explored and adventured most of the day. It meant I was so full of memories of made-up sword fights or imagined dragons that I could barely stay awake. It meant that for most of the day, I was probably uncomfortably hot and sweaty, but never had I been happier.
As humans, we cling to our comfort zones. We are hermits in our comfort. We create these walls around us that define our contentment levels. As soon as we get remotely close to these barriers, we freak out. Oh no, we think. I can't go out there - to the real world. What if I make a mistake? What if I get hurt? It is so much safer in here.
Okay, so what? So what if you do make a mistake? You learn from it. What if you do get hurt? Then you heal and move on. Your comfort zone is a safe environment, but nothing ever grows there! Every day is a new adventure - a new experience with new opportunities.
I write this as much to myself as to you. I love being comfortable. It is my sanctuary. There are days where I would love to do nothing but curl under the covers with a cup of coffee and a book because it is safe and cozy and warm. But what would I learn if I did that every day? What memories would I create?
When I get older, I hope to have this mental scrapbook of memories and life lessons with rips in the pages, coffee rings on the corners, and grass stains on the spine. There will be stories marred with storms and heartbreak, and others decorated with sunshine and laughter. Regardless, I want to flip through the tattered pages and pluck vivid memories from them. To me, the most terrifying thing in life is not change or being uncomfortable, but looking back on nothing but empty, dust-covered pages.
I write this, and my past couple of blogs, encouraging you to leave your comfort zone. Do one thing every day that absolutely terrifies you. It can be as small as making a phone call (which makes my heart race more than cliff jumping), or as drastic as white water rafting in a monsoon (which I don't recommend, but hey, it could be fun). Life isn't meant to be lived as a prisoner of comfort. Sure, your comfort zone is wonderful place to return to now and again, but you shouldn't reside there.
Dance in the rain. Talk to strangers. Go skydiving. Pet lots of dogs. Fight dragons. Be a living Gospel. Do things that scare you. You may come away from it heartbroken, but at least you tried. You learned from it, good or bad. You created a scrapbook memory that will lift your spirits or be a lesson to teach your children.
Know anything worth doing always contains a risk of failure, but the uncertainty is so worth it. I pray that you never look back and see dusty pages, but rich experiences that shaped you as a person. Don't be afraid to get a grass-stained heart. It means you've had a good life - a life of adventuring and exploring everything the world has to offer.
