Joining with the Five Minute Friday community sponsored by Lisa-Jo Baker. Each Friday, Lisa-Jo posts a one word prompt and
for five minutes we join together in an international community to write what the prompt brings to mind. No
rewrite, no editing just letting the words flow from our hearts.
Today's prompt is willing.
The meaning of willing is basically positive:
- ready, eager, or
prepared to do something
- cheerfully consenting
- eagerly
compliant
so it was interesting that my first thought from the prompt was
in the negative, about what I was not
willing to do. I am not willing to
settle. To settle for me means to
fall short of the desire or goal willingly.
It’s one thing to fall short after the good old college try, but to fall short on
purpose and be ok with it? Nope. I am not ready,
eager or cheerfully consenting to do that at all.
From the moment I realized I was able to make my own choices
and chart my own life’s direction, I knew I wanted to live life to the fullest.
My one overriding fear
is I would stand at the end of my life, look back and
say, “I will I had…” - fill in the blank. That would break my heart
completely. I never want to have backed off of something I really wanted to do because
of fear or peer pressure. I am absolutely not
willing to do that.
So I am willing to travel the road not taken, I am willing
to stand on the crumbling edge of the cliff and look over and I am willing to go
where no man has gone before. I am willing to face the fact that if I turn over
a rock in the garden, underneath there may be squiggly, squeamy (yes,it’s a word), squishy things I might not want to touch
because at least, then I’ll know. I am willing to take the chance that beyond here, there may be dragons*
because sometimes, the dragons are golden and that would be a glorious thing to
see.
But being willing to settle for just anything in my life...absolutely not.
I am definitely not willing to do that.
*Beyond here there be dragons is the
warning the ancient mapmakers would put on their maps to warn ships
that they were about to enter into uncharted waters and unknown and
dangerous territory.
