Risky Business

“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself.”

Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923)

I got new glasses on Friday, and that’s me up there at 6 on Saturday morning. The new specs are kooky and they look like upside down glasses. They’ll take some getting used to. But it was fun to take the risk, trivial as it is, and not to care for the opinions of others. (But what do you think?)

Katherine Mansfield, who’s quoted today, was a brilliant short story writer who lived a brief but bohemian life. She was risk taker who flaunted social mores and she became, in acting for herself, one of the preeminent writers of her time.

“I want, by understanding myself, to understand others,” she said. “I want to be all that I am capable of becoming.”

When I perceive how my thought processes and motives work, when I can clearly see my flaws and strengths, I can be more understanding of your efforts to become what you want to become. I can be empathetic toward you when I am considerate of myself. If I don’t understand my own humanity, how can I appreciate yours?

All of this is a risk. I could make a fool of myself by putting on dorky glasses and risking your poor opinion. I could try to be what I want to be, but what if I fail at it? How can I become what I wish I were if you think, he thinks, they think I’m not good enough?

It comes down to courage. We have to have the courage to change, to take action. If I’m willing, I can think for myself. I can set goals and work for them. If I have courage, I don’t have to live in the fear of what if.

I get that courage by testing the water in small things. The world’s not going to come to an end if what I try doesn’t work out. Keep plugging away at it. It may be the hardest thing in the world to be yourself, but the garment you weave will fit you perfectly.

How are you taking care of yourself today?

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A Sunday 160

In which we say something profound in 160 characters (counting spaces). See Monkey Man for more.

At 5:45 a.m. on a winter day
When the night sky lightens to navy blue
I can see the bare bones of naked trees
The hope of morning swells in me
Like a red balloon.

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