by Pauline Reneaux
WE DID IT, we made it to 2021!!! I can’t help but laugh as I type those words. Don’t get me wrong, I know we’re all happy that this year is behind us, but I can’t help but find humor in it as well. The alone time allowed many of us to look back on the past.
My momma used to say our family was so small we could hold a family reunion in our bathroom. While this was true for so many years, I already know 2021 is going to add 2 new family members to my crew. My daughter and son-in-law will be blessing me with a new grandson, and my oldest son will be getting married.
As we make preparations to welcome these two lives into our family, we can’t help but laugh at the fun that sat in the middle of the dysfunction that was their grandparents. Yes, my parents knew how to put the fun in the middle of dysfunction.
I grew up in a family that if life gave us lemons, my momma was going to use them in a cocktail. My mom and stepdad lived for adventure. Daring adventure. Anyone who had ever met our family knew that. We didn’t color inside the lines, because where was the fun in that.
There comes a point in everyone’s life when we must take an honest assessment of where we are and where we want to be … or at least we should. I’m not talking about New Year’s resolutions, but rather Vivid Vision. What is your Vivid Vision for your life?
2020 gave me plenty of time to do this, and the results were quite enlightening. Somewhere, along the way, I traded in my crayons for conformity, and my creative spirit was put away into a box. The box was wrapped in rules that slowly suppressed my spirit and sense of adventure.
The solitude forced on us by the pandemic was a blessing in disguise for me. It showed me how much I missed the adventure of my youth. It brought to life the reality that I have chosen to ignore for so long.
When we are boxed in by our environment not only is our spirit suppressed, but the world misses out on the daring adventures we can bring to those around us, the beautiful colors we can create and share with the world.
When we take an honest assessment of where we are and who we are meant to be, it allows us to bring our sense of adventure back to life. The fear of spending our lives boxed in is far more suffocating and worrisome, then the possibility of our lives going in a drastically different direction. Don’t we all want to truly find who we were meant to be? Don’t we all want to make a positive contribution to society?
The reality is, when we set out to help others, depending on the cause that we embrace, it could ruffle a few feathers. But isn’t that how we make progress and change in our homes and communities? Don’t we have to follow John Wayne’s advice and saddle up anyway? Every one of us has been blessed with gifts the world needs. If you can’t use them where you are, then saddle up and ride to where you can.
I am running into 2021 grounded with my sense of adventure back. The metamorphosis I began in 2020 has me now wanting to conduct a complete overhaul on my life in this new year. I read a lot, and a common theme among the authors I follow is that one of the biggest regrets at the end of people’s lives is a direct result of them not living authentically. Staying in a box with the crayons out of sight doesn’t allow us to bring the beautiful creations that we are to life. Our world needs more authentic creatives, with a daring sense of adventure, ready to take on the world and make a difference for those around us. May 2021 revive the daring adventures you always dream of …
Until next month…
Blessings, Pauline
To learn more about Pauline Reneaux, visit her blog at Pauline-Reneaux.com.
She welcomes email at paulinereneauxwrite@gmail.com.
