Hesitant Explorer

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water" ~ Tagore

A lesson I’m learning over and over again: "You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water" ~ Tagore

I figured I can’t leave you hanging after introducing the hesitant explorer in my previous post. I find that metaphors spark ideas and help me look at things from different perspectives. Metaphors are my own poetic way relating to nature and the universe especially when things don’t go according to plan.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

 I took the one less traveled by,

 And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost 

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One beautiful evening, Hesitant Explorer came across Mystical Weaver as he was walking along the shore, writing notes furiously in his notebook to make sure he is prepared for his upcoming journey that he had been planning for many years. He couldn’t have ever predicted that this chance encounter would change his life forever. In fact, he would not even believe it possible. He was usually too busy to look around. He was going through all possible scenarios to make sure he had everything ready before he set his foot on the epic journey, he sometimes referred to it as his lifetime quest. His posture was straight, his glance determined when he looked up into the horizon from his notebook, the expression on his face in deep contemplation.  Many years passed by as he started planning this journey. Wrinkles appeared on his once beautiful face.  His walk slowed and silver started to color his hair. Roots were made and grew deeper and stronger. Yet the longing did not go away, it just became duller and further away.  Determination became subdued, but it stayed, waiting for its moment. 

Mystical Weaver was sitting on a beautiful shiny black rock overlooking the bay and the unfinished basket in her hands sparkled with all colors of the sunset. Hesitant Explorer stopped a few meters away from Mystical Weaver and for many minutes he just stood there observing her magical hands moving smoothly, picking off the colors of the rainbow which was slowly fading above them. He was mesmerized by the slowness of her movements, the softness of her touch, the fire behind the intentional strokes. The basket, taking shape and becoming deeper with each moment. 

He got distracted by his thoughts, drifting away, he felt his thoughts rise and touch the rainbow, yet staying perfectly still. He knew he wanted to go somewhere, he felt drawn by adventure and intense emotions ever since he was a little boy.

He wanted to experience the depth of everything and nothing, that vastness of expansion that you would feel in the middle of the ocean and the smallness of oneself at the same time. He wanted to smell a salty ocean breeze, taste the humid air that caresses the face, sometimes gently and sometimes forcefully, and once reaching a random place share stories over a bonfire with new friends in a far far away land.

Yet Hesitant Explorer was still on the shore, taking notes and making plans. His issue was there were too many choices for an adventure, and he was afraid to make the wrong choice and waste his time. “I must maximize my choice and then make it perfect”, he often thought.  So more research was needed, and the more he read, the more ideas he had and the list kept growing with all the incredible things he wanted to experience, feel, taste, be. And the more assurance he needed for things to go according to his plan (which at this time was constantly adjusted to incorporate more exotic places and lots of insurance policies).  And as the list grew, the money needed to finance the whole operation increased, so he stayed where he was working, having an adequate career and kept putting away dollars in various buckets for his dream.  

Yet, in this moment, as he was standing on the shore, watching the hands of the Mystical Weaver move gently, gracefully and with purpose, he felt a different kind of breeze...

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Do you have your own story about making a decision, no matter how small, that changed your life? Is there a dream you want to make happen? Please share.