Shit sounds a little risky …..but I’m going to do it anyway

Shit sounds a little risky… but I’m going to do it anyway  

Embracing Courage 

Hey y’all! Happy Winsday! We’re back, and yes, your girl has decided to shoot for posting this blog bi-weekly. If you know anything about me, you know my schedule is packed like a teenage boy's lunch box. My ultimate goal is to stay consistent and realistic with us—me, you, and whoever else joins us here.

So, I was at the Margaritaville Resort at Lake of the Ozarks, sitting on a bench overlooking the murky water, inhaling the crisp night air, when the word "exploration" pierced my mind. I vividly had this unwarranted visual of myself jumping into the water, knowing I can't swim but believing I could make it back to land safely… if I took a few precautionary measures like grabbing a life jacket or floating device or just not going too far out. The point is, there was a real possibility of danger, a perceived threat, and an opportunity to just be in the water and stay within my comfort level.

Water calms me. It soothes my soul in a way that's akin to placing my feet in wet grass or red dirt. I've allowed my worries to be washed away, and my fiery emotions to be calmed in several bodies of water across the globe. I know and understand the healing benefits of water, and I won’t deprive myself of an opportunity to deepen my connection with one of nature’s most powerful and healing elements, even though I haven’t fully learned how to swim. I know it sounds a little risky, but I choose to do it anyway.

When we decide to explore, we choose to journey through unfamiliar territory to learn about it. Today’s ask is that you journey with me as we explore the unfamiliar and familiar aspects of taking risks and embracing courage. Together, we’ll uncover some of the benefits, potential threats, and the pernicious effects that can and have actually transpired.

Now, let’s drop in for a minute, open ourselves up to the present moment, and attempt to silence the noise—remove the distractions so we can receive the message that will be energetically transferred through our occipital lobe.

Allow your thoughts to flow through you without harsh judgment. Invite breath and calmness into your body, and if you’re inclined, invite that calmness into this chaotic world we live in. Think about what factors need to be in place for you to invite someone into your life, your home, or your space. Trust, desire, safety, and a yearning for connection are all there. We’ll do the same when we invite calmness, peace, and serenity in, because we’re about to get into it, friends.

Risky: to expose someone or something valued to danger, harm, or loss.

Courage: the ability to do something that frightens you.

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” —Muhammad Ali

Let me start candidly: If you ain’t living, you’re dying. To live is to fully allow yourself to explore everything life has to offer and to pursue every aspect of yourself—your gifts, talents, passions, and purpose—as well as the not-so-savory aspects of you so that you can explore everything you have to offer this world. All of this could expose you to danger, harm, or loss. Let’s be honest: most of our central nervous systems have been hijacked by the acute amount of trauma we've undergone, causing us to fight, flee, or freeze when we perceive danger or feel that something or someone threatens our sense of safety. However, there are times when we courageously or unconsciously bulldoze through that fear because we have a basic human need to meet, like food, shelter, or other responsibilities that contribute to our overall well being.

Some of us are fully aware of the harm a relationship—especially a familial or work environment—poses, but we develop the wherewithal to withstand the harmful or even toxic environment because the need outweighs our fear. Sometimes, that need is a need for connection or survival, which, for some, can be one and the same.

Every single person whose feet touch the pavement, whose eyelids divorce each other every morning, who passes through the portal to greet the sunrise each day takes risks. Every day we exit the threshold , leave the comfort of our homes (home being where you reside, not necessarily a physical house), and even before exiting, we make ourselves available for harm and danger. Such is life, right? And such is living in a world where emotions are high, yet the value for human life is low. We commit to living life daily and hourly. That commitment is exemplified in the plans we make for the day, the year, or those good ol’ quarterly goals.

In 2024, everything feels risky—whether it’s the threat of violence, the impact of climate change, or the immense pressures people face daily. The risks we take can result in mental, emotional, or physical harm, despair and agony. Hell, breathing polluted air, eating our food, dating, and even sending children to school all come with their own dangers. Stepping into the office, knowing it holds the power to determine whether you can afford to eat next month, is risky. Being a womxn, whether you embrace extreme femininity or masculine energy, comes with its own set of risks. Being a man, especially a Black man, comes with a very distinct set of risks. Being trans, queer, or non-binary comes with a heightened set of risks that most hetero folks will never understand. Whether you’re trans, queer, or hetero, if you choose to exist and be authentically yourself, you may expose yourself to danger. Even after doing the healing work to attract what you desire, dating remains risky. Engaging in generative conflict, setting, and maintaining boundaries are risky because you might have to sever ties with people you love deeply. Have you ever resented someone because their actions forced you to choose between losing them or losing yourself? Organizing is risky. Fighting injustice is risky. Being a school teacher, boarding a plane, or riding a motorcycle on the highway—everything comes with its own set of risks.

Fighting injustice is risky. Showing up for yourself  is risky.  Being a school teacher, boarding a plane, or riding a motorcycle on the highway—everything comes with its own set of risks.

Okay, so boom. Friend, living itself is risky and sometimes exhausting, but I need you to really understand that you are the creator and/or co-creator of your reality and your world. So, it would behoove you to take the risks, both calculated and uncalculated, that will allow your passions, purpose, or soul’s destiny to manifest in our current reality. Why are we willing to take certain risks yet too timid to engage in the ones that are truly fulfilling to us?

Friends, Covid 19, addiction, prison, the genocide happening in Gaza, and the oppression happening across the world have taught me that this life can be snatched away at any moment. So I need to live today. I need to love today.  I need to get on stage today, take the vacation, send the proposal, start the business, make the post, shoot my shot, make amends, find a therapist, organize the protest, produce the show, throw the event— tell people how I really feel…TODAY. All these activities that induce fear take us outside our comfort zones and outside our comfort zone is where the most growth happens. It’s where we stretch. 

I want you to think of what risks you currently need to take in your life and spend some time assessing those risks. Ask yourself, what are the real threats, what are the perceived threats, and would could be the benefits if you embodied courage. 

Lastly, reflect on everything that it took to get you to this point. All of the things that you survived, the things that didn’t kill you, the bullets you dodged, the tragedies that you recovered from are a reflection of the courage that you possess. The time is now, friends.