Jumping Off The Cliff Without A Parachute

Natura Morta
Giorgio Morandi
1929

Lately I have been feeling as if I am at a crossroads in my life. All the things that were once familiar and safe now feel stale and monotonous. It's time for some major changes. I am wearing a groove -- a rut, as it were -- in the routine of my life. I go to work, I come home; I go to work, I come home... It's often easier, however, to stay with the familiar and safe, rather than to take that step over the precipice into something new and exciting. Sometimes we need a shove.

In 21st Century North America, we are directed to live a certain way in order to have certain lives. We work, we go home; we work, we go home. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs and homes don't want to question the ennui that can sometimes set in. "Is this all there is?"

Some of us taken up hobbies or volunteer work, to augment our lives and give back to the community. But we learn that being busy does not always equate to fulfillment. There is still that little voice inside us -- questioning -- what if... Many of us have been gifted -- blessed -- with talents we either don't realize we have, or have never perfected. There is that secret place inside us that wishes we could have been a skilled musician playing wonderful piano concertos in Carnegie Hall, or a painter exhibiting in the Louvre or the MoMA, or a chef in a five-star restaurant ... or whatever. But, most of us learn at an early age that in order to live our lives, we must learn to live practically. We must be practical. We are afraid -- terrified -- to jump off that precipice into the unknown.

Go to work, come home; go to work, come home.

The Blue Vase
Giorgio Morandi
1920

A journalist named Katharine Whitehorn once said "Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it." That should be the first thing taught to all children, the moment they learn to read. But, you know, it's never too late. If you are feeling dissatisfaction with your life -- change it. I admire people who have the courage to say, "This isn't working for me." I wish I could be one of them. I think, however, we all have an instinct to keep ourselves safe, so we stay with the tried and true -- just in case that parachute doesn't open when we jump off the cliff.