outside the box

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed 

by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. 

So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. 

Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover." 

-- Mark Twain (attributed)

Hmmmm... now for something a little bit different.    

There are some who would misconstrue this quote, and take it to mean that we should all throw caution to the wind - and go do whatever we want, without regard for consequence, morality, etc. I don't think that was what Twain (or whomever said this) really meant. 

I think he was really talking about living life "outside the box."  I was discussing this with a friend just last night, and think it's worth considering more deeply. Living outside the box - sailing away from that safe harbor, going out to meet whatever adventures and challenges life presents us, whether in faith, family, friends, work, or whatever - is ultimately far more satisfying (and certainly more exhilarating!) than a life lived in fear of the world outside our doors. 

That there is no substitute for living life courageously and boldly. 

That first, there is no excuse for not truly knowing and understanding what you claim to believe, and that once you know and understand what you believe, there is no excuse for not learning about those who believe differently - and what they believe.

We tend to draw boxes around ourselves in an attempt to put ourselves in safe, comfortable places. Well, safe and comfortable may be nice and cozy, but in the end, it makes us complacent. It can keep us from sharing our lives with others who don't necessarily think the same way we do, but who may very well need us in their lives. From a Christian perspective, spreading the Word to the world doesn't work very well unless we're willing to wade into the fray - in other words, what good does it do us to only associate with those who think and believe the same way we do? (I'm not saying we shouldn't have friends who think like we do - that's obviously important, too - we need the companionship of those with whom we share our beliefs and general way of thinking.)

We'd do well to see the world outside our "boxes" not as a threat, but as an opportunity to learn about others, and inevitably, to learn about ourselves, as well. Why let that pass us by... to later suffer the disappointment of what we could have done, what we could have learned, what we could have shared?

+ Peace, and all good.