Why is it that we are fearless as children, but that goes away as we get older? Probably because we see the potential dangers and consequences that we didn't see as a child. While I agree we need to know about dangers, I wish we could also maintain some of our fearlessness.
My parents love to tell the story at family gatherings, or when a new person comes over for dinner, about the time they took me skiing for the first time. They paid for an instructor to teach me how to ski. After a bit, the instructor took me up on the chair lift to ski down a (small) mountain. My Dad stood at the bottom, excited to see me come down the mountain, in a safe environment, skiing for the first time. What happened instead? Apparently the instructor told me she was getting off the chair lift, told me to do exactly what she did.
I did.
But apparently I took it one step further and I guess I went through her legs and went skiing down the mountain. SANS instructor.
I would also like to point out I was less than 6 years old. Probably 4?
Sadly, I don't have any memory of this wonderful adventure. But I can only imagine that I was smiling as I was skiing down that mountain. I had no idea that it was dangerous. Did I know how to stop? Probably not. Did I know how to slow down? Maybe but I'm sure I was just thinking, this is FUN!
Now, I know better. My Dad likes to say I gave him a heart attack that day. And I give myself a slight heart attack thinking about it now. Only because I don't think about the little girl having the most fun skiing down a mountain. I think about all the potential dangers: stopping, slowing down, not hitting someone or something, breaking something, etc.
But that little girl was fearless. And that's what I'd like to have a bit more of in my life. A girl who goes forward, focusing on the positives and having the time of her life. What about you?
Which person do you identify with? Which person do you wish you were more like?