We’ve all been Rapunzel, standing at the edge of adventure, looking back at security and safety. Pausing, hesitating, taking half a step backwards. But you gather yourself, and you jump. You grip your fear and you plunge forward into the unknown, right? Ideally.
But we’re not always that brave, are we?
Being on the cusp of a new beginning, the threshold of change, can be intimidating. Scary, even. One could say it can manifest into something bigger than what it is. You can take in all the possibilities ahead of you, examine the opportunities, and weigh the pros and cons of taking that step. You can choose to slink back into your tower and pretend you weren’t called for something more, weren’t pulled towards the glittering newness of change, and you can live in docile contentment.
Or you can jump. Embrace it. Charge into the change head first. Answer the call, the lanterns, the second star to the right.
If Rapunzel hadn’t jumped, she never would have discovered all she was capable of. Never would have found what was on the other side of the familiar. She wouldn’t have realized who she was. Throw in a charismatic wanted criminal to fall in love with and hey, who wouldn’t want to jump? But that’s more of a bonus if anything.
You can let life happen to you or you can live life while it’s happening to you. You can burst into the unknown with ambition and perseverance or you can let it pass you by with indifference.
I have not always jumped. When I haven’t, I’ve found that I suffer far more from inaction then reaction in the case of opportunity. There is a time and place for deep contemplation, of course. There is always room for caution.
Sometimes you have to jump. It will be scary, it will be uncertain, and it will change you.
It’s easier to stay where you are. To stay where you know what to expect, where you’re comfortable and secure.
But when you look back from the other side of that choice, you will not view your previous conditions in the same light. They will cease to hold you captive. You will have left a section of yourself behind, a small portion of your story, and discovered more then you’d ever expect.
Maybe not the revelation that you’re the lost princess of a thriving kingdom, but hey, the metaphor still stands.
We all have a tower, a Mother Gothel, a jump to make, and an adventure to take in one form or another. Who will you be on the other side?
Charge into the change.
