Surprise

My son Fisher is a worrier. He talks big but when it comes down to it his steps are small. Just yesterday the kids and I went down to the creek to walk on the ice. It was his idea, but when we got there he dropped to his knees and crawled. Worry is always a discouragement. It's a way of boxing yourself in to a small space in an attempt to keep the world out, from letting it get to you too much. Of course there are some things we should worry about, but there are different degrees and I don't believe we should ever let it get to the point of stagnation. The richness of life comes from the experience of all the highs and lows--so many mountains to cross, and of course the plateaus in between. It comes down to trust--if we trust ourselves then we can forge through with the knowledge that we will stop if it isn't right, that we won't break for trying. So recently I posed to Fisher that he should do one thing every day to surprise himself. The idea clicked for him. He'll jump from greater heights and distances, try a food he adamantly claimed he wouldn't like, he'll let go of my hand and try things on his own, he'll stand up on the ice. And every time his face alights with the surprise of accomplishment. No matter how small, it is something. And even if things don't go as imagined, he needs to learn how to face those bumps and bruises that will inevitably come. He needs to learn how to deal and the only way that can happen is to stop trying to build a shelter of worry. Because the only thing that shelter does is prevent surprise and experience and growth. The world happens anyway.