A few thoughts

I don't usually use this blog for personal reflections, but it's two in the morning, and why not? First of all, a song:

I'm beginning to realize the extent to which comfort plays a dominant role in my decision-making process. I still live with my parents, despite being a senior in university, because it's comfortable. I haven't pushed myself to make close friends at school, because that's uncomfortable. I stuck stubbornly to my plans of going straight to graduate school next fall because school is comfortable. I haven't committed to learning to how to drum, or how to play bass, because really - it's uncomfortable to stretch myself. And I certainly haven't chased any big dreams. It's natural to shy away from what's unfamiliar, but that impulse is tied to fear - fear of the unknown, fear of mistakes, fear of failure.

But fear is the mind killer, and a life that isn't lived boldly isn't much of a life. Radical, life-changing moments don't happen when you're sitting on your couch, they happen when you're out pushing yourself, and the limits of the possible. I'm not content with an average life.

"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." - Cecil Beaton

"But the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture past them into the impossible." - Arthur C. Clarke

"Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no whenever you don't want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you are doing here. Believe in kissing." - Eve Ensler

"Who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight... men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And in all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect." - Hebrews 11:33-35, 38-40.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear (timidity), but of power and love and discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7