quote If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail Richard Yates

It Takes Backbone to Lead the Life You Want

quote If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail Richard Yates

TODAY’S QUOTE FOR INSPIRATION AND CREATIVITY:

“If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes backbone to lead the life you want” ~ Richard Yates

REFLECTION

Throughout my adult life I’ve been a wanderer – I’ve never enjoyed staying in one place (both literally and figuratively) for very long. I like movement, change, new beginnings and the natural cycles that move us through time – day by day, season by season. I see life as a spiral, each curve an opportunity for expansion.

This kind of journey oftentimes requires patience, perseverance and acceptance of failure. It can be difficult to move seamlessly with the ebbs and flows that are a natural part of following your heart in pursuit of the things you seek most in life. I often wonder how to make it all work  – all the travel and entrepreneurial endeavors and the idea of living part-time in my current home and part-time someplace that offers a healthier lifestyle and better career opportunities – if we were to start a family.

Sometimes a “normal” life sounds so sweetly comfortable. The idea of no longer trying to move along the spiral, but instead finding a little nook in the thread to hunker down in, putting off the inevitable obstacles that arise when you pursue everything you want in life. I wonder if this pause lasted long enough, would I forget the dreams I hold in my heart and adapt to a more settled destiny?

No.

We all know that these dreams never fade, they may feel distant and sad, but they are the seed that possesses all that we are. Life can be utterly exhausting, stretching us to our limits and demanding all our energy. Yet when we find the strength to pursue the things that make us come alive, we no longer sacrifice the purpose of our existence in exchange for comfort. Yes, failure may be part of the journey, but better to try and fail than to never experience the depths of what lights your soul on fire.

Maria

Photo: Anthony Russo

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The Culture-ist