some days my cycnical side gets the best of me, and i begin to think that there are two types of people in this world: those who are too afraid to step out into the unknown, and those who do.
over the past couple of days i have stumbled upon several situations via strangers or acquaintances that have left me thinking about all of the decisions that we make in life, and how each person handles these decisions differently. i'm sure this goes back to some deep-seated (yes, that's right, i thought it was deep-seeded too, but google proved me wrong) matrix of life experiences and their outcomes, but still, it's interesting. i've talked about something similar this before, but i think that this is a bit different.
i've seen people stay with the same girlfriend or boyfriend for years and years, one that they are not really happy with, not well matched to and could do much much better than, but they are deeply afraid to be alone, so they stay and convince themselves that they are in love with them. i've seen people stay in jobs that they hate, with a company they despise and a position that literally makes them sick with stress. i've seen cars being driven around that are held together by duct tape, zip ties, and a few lucky coat hangers (ok, ok, guilty as charged!). yes yes, stop being so logical, everyone knows that in some instances, you may not financially have a choice about sticking with a few of these things, but in the grand scheme of things this is just a symptom. someone who stays with that significant other, in that job, or with that terribly terribly malformed car, is rarely nostalgic, they are simply too afraid to move forward, to try.
the unknown is scary (helllllo justification?), but what are we living for if not to try and experience some level of satisfaction with the amount of effort we've put into our own lives.
like i said, this could be a bit critical, and as usual, i tend to be generalizing, but it makes me sad to see lives being wasted. is this an american thing? a gen y thing? nah, i think it has a lot to do with where we are at spiritually, as in, typically God pushes you to move beyond what feels safe. beyond the known into the unknown. without taking a leap of faith, we would never find the loving arms of a God who rewards us for trusting him enough to follow him into what may seem like a crazy, half-cocked plan.
so why am i so stuck on this whole thing? i think because i see God asking me to trust him, i hear his voice asking me to dip my toe into the abyss of the unknown, but time and time again i shrink back into the warmth of the known, the comfort of my little, well-known nest of safety.
i see the consequences of my safety nets. do you see yours?
No comments:
Post a Comment