Daring Sam
How daring are you?
A friend sent me this video of her niece during
swimming lessons and I almost fell off my chair laughing. Her courage was both
hysterical and a good reminder of what it is to be as daring as a 2-year-old. Notice
how in the video little Sam throws the ball into the pool and it floats. Then
she figures she could float just as well, and without a minute's notice to her
unsuspecting father, she takes one incredible leap and plunges into the water.
Without a thought, without fear, with absolute confidence that her
father would be there if anything went wrong, she dives into the pool.
As children, we all came into this
world endowed with incredible courage and confidence. We believed in
everything and thought we could do everything, including flying! But as we
matured and life began to take us down different lanes, reality began to hit.
We were cautioned against making mistakes, which gradually invited fear into
our hearts. With every stroke of failure we unlearnt our childhood bravery and
took on adulthood suspicion.
From time to time it's refreshing to see childhood innocence
masked by courage. It's important to remind ourselves to throw caution to the
wind and strike out. Easy for a toddler—incredibly difficult for a grown
adult who has seen the harsh realities of life. So how to you revive the little
dare devil in you? How you do you get past that nagging voice of reality in
your head? Have you figured out how to keep your zest for learning and taking
risks as you go through life? It's so easy to get sucked up in the pond of 'no'
and 'can't be done', especially if you've a had a negative
experience. But if you really want to continue to have some relevance, you've
got to unlearn your mistakes and take a leap. I believe in taking risks. You can't be absolutely sure
it wouldn't work until you try, but I also believe in taking
calculating risk. Before you leap into a pool like Sam, make sure you can swim
or at least have a life jacket. There are so many incredible experiences to
enjoy as we go through life—don't be in a hurry to grow old and lose your
childhood innocence and bravery. Take a leap… try new things.
So let's see if we can teach some old dogs new
tricks. To keep a balanced level of daring courage and real
life caution, you need to break the mold. Try out new ways to do old
things: Order in Thai food instead of African meals for a change. Visit a
friend by ferry instead of taking the bus like you have done for
years. Add some colors to your wardrobe instead of wearing
black like me! Every little action you take towards trying out a new
thing releases new energy into your body and increases your zest for
life. For most adults it's a little unnerving and stressful at times
when we break out of our routine, but you need to try in order to keep your
mind active and alert. Nothing says dull & boring like endless routine. If
you want your life to say 'exciting!', 'creative', 'can’t wait to see another day!', you need to find new ways to do old things or try
new things. Life is full of surprises if you are open to them… Throw caution
into the wind, let little Sam out, and dare to believe again.
Two thumbs
up for Samantha, our little daredevil for reminding us to take a leap!
oh, that was funny! I could not stop laughing, just reminds me of my son who thinks he's superman at the momment. Thank God for courage!
ReplyDeletewww.bukkyapampa.com
The video definitely puts a smile on my face & the article has given a wiser view to it. It's important to embrace d bravery & enthusiasm of little Sam....& even more, have d heart of a child. I took a step further in this by delighting my self with an animated movie...'Brave'! Really funny, yet something to learn from, like lil' Sam's escapade.
ReplyDelete