"Our very life here depends directly on continuous acts of beginning." John O'Donohue (January 1, 1956-January 4, 2008)
I was in Barnes & Noble last week flipping through the book, Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins. It's listed as a Wall Street Journal best-seller, "A common-sense guide to living rich...instead of dying rich." I landed on a page subtitled, "Charity Can't Wait." I'd been contemplating finding a charity to donate to. It seems at every turn lately, the universe is coaxing me into action; two of my friends who haven't even met just happened to encourage me, unbeknownst to both, to start the same side business. One of them has been persisting for about a year.
I'm reminded of the movie, Yes Man, starring Jim Carrey. The plot was goofy like many of his movies, but it was entertaining for sure and I enjoyed it. Carrey plays a character who, after hearing a motivational speaker, challenges himself to say yes to every opportunity he's offered. Any of us with a brain would never do this, lest our life becomes a comedy to onlookers and a tragic mess we're saddled with. I can't help but wonder, though, if we're too quick to say "No" in life more often than not. Are we all just a bit too programmed to be cautious, tight-budgeted, and skeptical?
Granted, we live in a world where something is being peddled at every turn; perhaps that's the culprit. As I take a hard look at my own life and the years flying by, I realize I want to be more available, more open, and more considerate of every opportunity. And then I realize the courage this takes. It requires boldness because every venture outside of our comfort zone is inherently risky. Like going on a date, the potential for things to run amok is endless, but as Yes Man so warm-heartedly depicts, investments in people, places, ideas, new information-whatever-yield returns that far outweigh the illusion of security that often keeps us locked in place.
The first day of the new year looms like a blank journal page reminding me that beginnings beckon us into the wilderness because they challenge us to choose, to risk, to trust, and ultimately, to grow. This is what keeps us young. No need to travel the world looking for adventure, it's right outside the front door!
Our days melt into years. How we spend each day is how we spend our lives. As I enter yet another new year, it's with excitement and trepidation that I decide to say yes more in hopes of making each day count.
What will you say yes to in 2024?!
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