Okay, I’m a sap when it comes to Hallmark movies. Especially, the Christmas ones. Yeah, they all have scripts that are so similar that only the names, faces, and towns differ, and you pretty much know how it’s gonna end after the first two minutes, but…what can I say? I like probably 50%-60% of them anyway. I have no problem turning them off if they are too cheesy.
Today, after my visit to the chiropractor, I needed to ice my back and hip. So while I sat there icing, I turned on a Hallmark mystery. Something different for a change. Haha…
The main character said something that inspired me to write this post. She said, “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
Fear is a big thing. Well, it’s always been big in my life anyway. Fear kept me from doing a lot things that I now regret I didn’t do in my younger years. My question to myself is what was I afraid of, and why am I still afraid?
I simply do not know.
Are you afraid to step out and do hard things? In my case, they don’t even have to be hard things. Just different things. Are you fearful to step out of your comfort zone, like me?
I read obituaries. I love reading about other people’s lives. All those lives mattered to someone. Many left an imprint on the community where they lived and worked. Some obituaries are quite lengthy with all the life they had lived. I often wonder how some of them fit all that living into their years. Did they have fears too? I bet the majority would say yes.
Starting a business, taking a trip, writing a book, going back to school, moving away from home, trying a new venture, running for an office, changing occupation, quitting a job, walking away from whatever is toxic in our life…are all things that scare us. It’s like we’ve got this collar on that won’t let us pass through the invisible fence. From inside my yard that world out there looks pretty big and amazing. Maybe tomorrow I’ll rush the boundary. But today I’ll sit in my safe zone and create a list and draw up a plan.
Maybe tomorrow……
But does tomorrow really ever come? Can you count the number of dreams and opportunities you allowed to slip through your fingers like grains of sand?
Life doesn’t wait on us, and more often than not, time is not our friend. The older we get, the faster it goes. It truly is a vapor.
Living every moment to the fullest, inside or outside of our box, is key. And everyone’s fullest is different. Sometimes doing things on the spur of the moment makes the best day.
Getting in my car at 18 and driving west was all I could think about when I was 16 years old. I was going to explore new places and meet new people. And on my adventures I’d be singing John Denver songs. He is the one who inspired me to dream and write…and to head west. But I never did. Head west, that is. I still dreamed my dreams.
Although I no longer desire, or need, to do big impressive things, I will always wonder what I would have learned, and what memories I would have made, had I rushed the boundary on occasion.
Watching my kids, though…I see them living on the other side of fear, and that makes me really happy. They are pretty amazing people.
♥️
Andi
Coffee with Andi 
you are so brave now
you have learned so much over the years
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I don’t know about brave, Denise, but I’ve certainly learned a lot. I guess on occasion I’ve been brave. 😬♥️
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Andi, beautifully written, thought-provoking post. Loved it! 😎👏
Now and then, I also find myself on an obituary page; forget it, the next two hours will be spent reading the life & times of strangers with wildly varying lives. Most grew up where they lived, married someone local, lived an unremarkable life and please donate to the Rotary in lieu of flowers. A few shook the dust of their home towns from their feet, headed for the bright lights, and never looked back.
But to your point… which one needed really needed courage? There’s a quiet nobility to thriving where you grew up, marrying someone you met at three, raising good kids and plugging along, doing your best. It’s real, satisfying. And many times, even if we’re sufficiently bold, when we reach our goal… it’s not so much “I’ve arrived!” as “Is this all there is?”
But I get it… it’s not trying that’s vexing, although the years spent trying eat into non recoverable time. Only in Hallmark Movies does the small town girl head for the city, make it big… only to discover that what she really wanted was her hometown where her BF is conveniently still waiting, both parents alive and vibrant, and her friends all still there 😂
Great post, my friend 😎❤️
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Ahhh…you are familiar with Hallmark movies! Impressive! 😄
Thanks for reading, Darryl, and for your thought-provoking comment. I really appreciate other’s insight. Goodness and contentment can be found wherever you are. And dreams, the storybook dreams, can be found even in your own backyard. When I make a mental list of all I’ve done in my life, I am struck with awe. My adventures just took me different places than what I dreamed. Thank you, friend! 💙
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Andi, I must confess to a certain weakness for HM movies, especially around Christmas time. Very corny and formulaic, but immensely satisfying with hot chocolate and home made Xmas cookies 😎🎄🎅🎁
I recalled a “Hallmark Plot Generator” that I stumbled on accidentally once… really funny. I dug it up for you… hope you like it 😂❤️👏
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That’s too funny! Every movie fits! 😂 Your wife is a lucky woman. I have to binge watch when my husband is at work! Thanks for digging that up for me. I’m going to copy it and send to my daughters. Thanks for the laugh!
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fantastic butterfly photos Andi!
funny that the saying about fear is something that piqued your interest. I have been going back and forth on that saying myself recently. there’s a part of me that understands it but there’s also a part of me that nuances it and I think that’s where most of us stand too. there’s consequences on either side of the equation! Mike
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