...if someone gave me a plane ticket to anywhere in the world,
I would choose to go to...
But...WAIT!
How long will I be gone?
Who will watch Ellen?
Is anyone going with me?
Can I do some research?
I know, what a fun-hater I can be right? The practical side of the brain can overrule the free spirit, risk taking traveler side of the brain, and cheat us out of the greatest opportunities and experiences we will ever have in life. I love to travel but I HATE HATE HATE to think about it and plan for it, so I've been known to avoid it. I routinely pack at the last minute, so I am always that person borrowing a bandaid or Tylenol. Or your socks. One time I forgot underwear all together.
The issue here is risk. The whole trip could be a failure, or could cause a failure, and when we see potential failure on our horizon we experience the fear caused by one thing only...RISK.
Risk is most prevalent for an artist, attempting to create something for the first time. Ask any artist. It takes bucket FULL of fearlessness to create something and share it. So what does that have to do with decisions in life and risk? When designing our lives, we are 100% artists. Art is doing something for the first time, and we are all living our lives for the first time and with every decision, every action (or failure to act). Everyday, we are literally creating a history of ourselves only we can create. If you are alive you are an artist whether you want to be or not. And the responsibility is crushing if you allow fear to convince you that what you have imagined can go wrong is tangible, instead of just in your head. Fear of wrong decisions can be so paralyzing that we just stay in our comfort zone, avoiding risk. But if we assess the risk, and recognize fears as imagined, then we can start to do what we were meant to do.
The sheer beauty of the scenery jolts a person into realizing just how big the world is and while we are sipping coffee in our local starbucks, or commuting in traffic to our cubicle, or living a life that feels like Groundhog Day in any way, there is a guy bungee jumping next to the breathtaking wine vineyards outside Queenstown. And we all need to see that to understand the true freedom we have. So really? Do I really need to get that closet organized this week? It kind of turns your priorities on their head.
I know I'd love NZ. I didn't love Europe. I would go to New Zealand again but that would take the risk and possible reward of a new experience out of the deal. That movie Under The Tuscan Sun makes Tuscany look ideal, so that's my answer.
And when I got there, I'd set my sights on writing a book.
