Be Bold, Be Free, Be Truthful

[Andrew]

Be Bold, Be Free, Be Truthful

This has become a new mantra for me. In recent days, I have been once again reminded that life is there to be LIVED! To be vibrantly experienced to the maximum extent humanly possible!

I believe our true Inner Selves are revealed to us when we step out of our comfort zone. It seems as I continue on my raw journey, I find myself less willing to live in that space. I've decided to do my best each day to break out of it, take chances and drink in the feeling of living for exactly EACH MOMENT. I suppose it is the same rush as jumping out of an airplane or some other extreme sport, only figuring out a way to have that feeling in "everyday life."

I have started doing that as of NOW and will do my best to recount my experiences in my journal. In my mind, eating raw is a very bold action, especially considering the interrogations and weird looks I get when I tell people I only eat raw foods.

For me, I took a step outside my usual VERY shy/introverted self and struck up a conversation with someone I found attractive. A small thing, yes, but afterwards I realized how exhilarating the whole experience was. I was truly present, living in that moment, really ALIVE. It hit me soon afterwards that THAT is how we should strive to live each day, every minute of our lives.

So, other than a different take on eating, I'm interested in hearing how some of you have recently "stepped out of your comfort zone" in one way or another. Asked someone on a date, bungee jumped off a bridge, drank in the moment of a personal victory of some kind, whatever! Please share! Even the smallest victories (and what we perceive as failures, too) can be exhilirating--they point us down our own paths! Please share!

Peace,
Andrew

[misslinda]

Andrew,

GREAT topic---I believe reflective inward discoveries are one the best treasures! :)

Mine is a little on the flip side........I've always been one to live on the edge with the adrenaline pumping......a fiery gemini--very extroverted !!!! who has a sales background so I can talk my A** off to anyone let alone to anything.

My latest stepping out of my "comfort zone", has been into keeping to myself and having time alone.......my cell phone rings off the hook and I wake up to 17 messages on my phone, my door knocks at 10ish at night with friends stopping by to gab a bit and my email box is typically some 32 messages every morning......."Linda, where are you--tried calling you?" "How come you haven't responded?" "I came by your place...blah blah blah." "When can I come over and see you?" HOLY GRAIL!

So as you can see, asking people to honor my "away" time was challenging for me---I started telling friends yesterday that they may not hear from me for awhile---my good friend of 12 years was shocked and baffled but I REALLY felt good to be able to say it---I could probably get used to this

On a more serious note, it was an emotional experience. I realized I lived having all those anchors around me carrying me through very rough times in my life and in life in general. This is going to be an experience to walk "alone"------without being lonely.

Hey Andrew, congrats on taking the "dive" and venturing out---truly gratifying feeing. ^5 atcha!

**Oh, well I may even try rock climbing with no gear!!!!


Good Times,
Linda

[sweetgoddess]

Beautiful post Andrew, and it is so true...we dont grow very much in our comfort zones...there is little challenge to mind or soul once we get attached to a comfort zone. This I know well.

I met a man online a few years ago and we chatted a great deal. He spoke of growth, spirit, consciousness etc. I was in a major comfort zone....jobwise, housing wise, personal life......but I knew I wasnt growing or using my creativity, but it was ok, right? I mean, I was comfortable..safe.

So this man and the sharing of his spiritual growth/beliefs struck something in me...that something I called the "internal ache" at the time....which I tried filling with everything possible outside of me.
I was suddenly compelled to move to be with him.....3ooo miles away in a different country! One part of me thought I was being crazy, but something deeper knew I was being pulled for a reason. ( and thank you Spirit)

I gave up everything I owned....everyone I knew...my job...my school courses...everything and I moved far, far out of my comfort zone to say the least.

And I am so grateful I did. I developed and grew so much spiritually...found a spiritual path that was true for me..became the editor of a spiritual newspaper...healed old wounds....emotions..built an incredible marriage, friendship and family....and now I am working on the physical..it came from the inside out. Because I was willing to step out of that comfort zone I have also had challenged and then let go of -most of the mental habits ,inhabitions and misbeliefs that had kept me company while in it.

I have discovered....me as more than just a body or mind. Living in the present moment has become an incredible joy--back in my comfort zones, and there have been many..the last thing I wanted to do was be present in the moment!

Cheers~
Carmel

[RawTruth]

OMG, Carmel! What an amazing story. What journal? What country? You're posts are always grounded and "feel" true. Now I understand why.

[catherinethegreat]

Loved reading everyone's truth's on this topic.

Mine??

Let's see.....

My entire life has been a bit of a out of the comfort zone and I think I really love that.

1. was on drugs and alcohol at age 13
and at age 18 checked myself into treatment and then moved to Minneapolis for extended treatement from San Diego ( I didn't even know where Minnesota was )

2. lived in Mpls for 8 years
went to art school sober! OY, talk about feeling vulnerable.

3. Moved to Ashland Oregon to be an assistant stage manager and had no education on Theatre.
Talk about deer int he headlights.

4. quit my 2 pack a day cigarette habit

NOW THAT IS SCARY!

5. Went to a spiritual workshop and was scared to death of it but allowed my friend to talk me into it.
It changed my life and I practiced it for 5 years -

6. Moved to Portland Oregon - even though I had never been there

7. Moved in with my long distance boyfriend. And have been with him 3 years.
That might not seem out of the comfort zone - but for me - I'm COMPLETELY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE. Every day is so odd for me because I know how to be "new" and do the flirty thing - but not the long term thing. It's a daily battle within myself to STAY PUT and BE HERE. SO maybe it's allowing myself to be loved - and learning to love another being - and be near them and learn that each chapter in a relationship is amazing - but just isn't like that first phase - that first phase is more like being on drugs or something.....which is why I probably prefer it! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

8. Changing my entire life - from being at home all day
to actually DOING all the things I imagine in my mind as being the perfect life:
going swimming at the gym every day
going to santa monica and roller blading
eating raw 100%( doing that one! )
hiring people to work for me so I can focus on being creative
( which is scary because then I can't complain all there is - is wide open space to create!!! I often create chaos so I can avoid myself )
meditation
yoga
bike riding
walking
laughing
being with true friends
not wasting time with toxic friends
being vibrant in my life and happy and sparkling instead of dwelling on negative.
Being wonderful to my boyfriend
accepting people as they are
not being poisonous to others.

But that is a lot

But these are goals I have for my BIG HUGE life OUT OF THE BOX change.

Sorry it's so long winded!






*catherine

[Andrew]

I love lists like your 'perfect life' one, Catherine. I've done a lot of self-reflection and journaling work in the past few months, so I have SEVERAL lists that are similar and I read over them every day so I will always be reminded of how I have the power to create my life. In fact, I created a binder so they would all be on one nice little place. Every morning, after some morning journaling and meditation, I review my lists in order to start my day with a great feeling of how wonderful it is that I am working each day to be the person I see on those pages.

These stories are incredible! Misslinda, sweet goddess and catherine...thank you so much for sharing them with us. They inspire me! I particularly love hearing about perspectives different from my own. Helps me appreciate how wonderful and diverse people are.

When I read these posts they just give me a big smile, especially when for me today, stepping out of my comfort zone meant calling someone for a date! Heh! Kinda pales in comparison. But, hey, I DID it! After a half-hour or more of psyching myself up, I eventually realized it wasn't about whether I'd hear a "yes" or "no," it was whether or not I made the call at all. I was soon repeating to myself, "I can press 'send' on my cell phone, or I can go back and sit at my computer a stay in this nice little bubble." All morning I had been asking the Universe for some guidance and courage. Well, ask and you shall receive. Even now, I'm thinking less about the answer I got ("Yes." Woo hoo...OK, so I'm a LITTLE thrilled) and more about how I felt during that experience. My thought is that I want to create momentum with that feeling so I can bring it into my life more and more.

There's a wonderful Sondheim song called "Move On" which moves me deeply every time I hear it. In it the character is singing about the decisions she made in her life, and she sings the line: "I chose and my world was shaken, so what? The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not. You have to move on." Everytime I hear that line, it affects me.

Thanks to everyone again for sharing. Hope to hear more wonderful stories.

Peace,
Andrew

[emmaann]

First CONGRATS Andrew for stepping out of your box, and getting YOUR DATE!! smiles!! AND you are right doesn't matter whether they say, "yes" or "no" or even if you have a great time or not.......you did it and thats all that matters!! LOVED everyones feed back here!! VERY inspirational. I can TOO relate to "stepping out of THAT box"!! I did that Jan. 1, 2005 by attending an "Overeaters Meeting" and sitting in front of a bunch of people I did not know to tell them..........I WANT to cross the line........that I get SO STUCK sitting on that line that I want to just cross it and SEE WHAT HAPPENS. Though I HAVE NO idea what the heck I am suppose to be doing or what I am going to find "outside this box" I am DOING it!! Getting rid of my VICE (which is addictive food) has changed my life. I DO NOT want to go back no matter what to the life I had before. Though I don't have a long list of things I have done out of the box. I have ONE GIGANTIC ONE and its been a life saver!! SMILES!!

[Autumn]

My story is similar to Sweetgoddess'. I too met a man online, nearly 8 years ago. Eighteeen months later, I moved 1100 miles to be with and marry him, even though I never met him face to face until the day he drove a U-Haul truck to my door. Although I didn't move to another country, leaving Philadelphia, PA for Alabama sure felt like it.

In my heart, I knew I had to "just do it". I was not only wallowing in my "comfort zone" I was completely stuck in a rut. I gave up my business, my house, as well as everyday contact with all my family and friends of 32 years. I had to learn a new "language" as well as learn to slow down. I remember the first time we went food shopping, my new love asked me where the fire was as I was racing through the store. I've learned to stop and smell the roses, almost literally, as together we started a large vegetable garden and I jumped up and down with excitement when the first of them started sprouting. I've done many little things here that I never did before. Cleared land, planted trees, operated a bush-hog and rototiller, went on a hayride, fed a deer, attended a land auction. I've learned to appreciate just sitting on my porch with neighbors (I actually know their names!) drinking lemonade, instead of sending a quick email to people I never see.

There were a lot of times I had to laugh, like when I asked a neighbor if roosters and hens have sex, who has sex with the chicken? I also never knew that one seed=one plant (I threw a handful into each hole.) I was told to wear boots once to a trip in the country-and wore burgundy leather long boots with a 4 inch stacked heel. I never even owned a pair of JEANS until I moved here - I was a city slicker all the way. Now I'm in the seed store far more than the mall. My once impeccable nails frequently have soil underneath them. I own "work boots" and "work gloves". I'm the one in charge of shaping our 24 bushes.

Of course all my family and friends thought I was absolutely crazy. Some probably still do. For someone who was very introverted and shy (I would risk being late for work and wait until several trolleys went by to get on one that didn't have too many people on it), this move was MAJOR for me. I reopened my business here and have built a clientele of 700 clients in 3 years. And even though I still sometimes miss the rush of the city, the all-black work clothes ;) and the hustle and bustle of running for trains and flipping off people who bug me, I'm here to stay.

[Jay]

Great thread Andrew, thanks for starting it up!!


I'm about to soon step out of my box, on the 25th of February to be exact, because that is the day I will first go to Paris to catch a flight to Bangkok, Thailand.
After highschool I did all sorts of things, from working to going back to college, and after graduating last summer, it was either finding myself a job, or doing something completely different! I chose the last option, and I still don't regret it !! I decided to 'take a year off' from my life here in Belgium, and explore a part of the world that I've been wanting to visit for several years now! I haven't made big plans, normally I write down when the bus arrives, then the hour my train is and when it arrives at its destination, lol, this time, I'm just gonna see when I get there. No pressure to visit this and that and certainly go there, no, I took one year off, I can do it all, or not, it's up to me :)

This will also be the first time I will go on 'holiday' so far away from home, on my own. Well, the trip itself is on my own, in Bangkok I'm meeting up with Analeah who's also on this board. I've only known her through e-mail and Instant Messaging, so this will be fun and exciting!
Scary too of course, but I'm 26, old enough to do this on my own (or together with Analeah) and people... I'M READY FOR IT!!! Thailand here I come!!!

Joke

[catherinethegreat]

That is great news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing it with us - I know what you mean about it being more about the action then the outcome.

( but the "YES" is pretty darn grand too! )

*c

[misslinda]

[quote=autumn] I've done many little things here that I never did before. Cleared land, planted trees, operated a bush-hog and rototiller, went on a hayride, fed a deer, attended a land auction. [quote]



operated a bush-hog and rototiller????? Apparently, I haven't stepped into the "greatoutdoors" yet! yur killin me Autumn!


Good Times,
Linda

[catherinethegreat]

Ok - SO I wrote out my list on this thread of things I'd like - or how I'd like my life to look

and things are already manifesting in that direction!!!

WOW

Today I went to another pool to swim - a huge outdoor pool I forgot was so close to me - near the rose bowl. It was so ---uncomfortable - -- I felt like a fish out of water ( hhaha ) I felt like I could have forgotten my bottoms as I walked out to the pool. I felt THAT uncomfortable.

But I did it.

And I walked a lot after the swim

and then tonight found a rollerblading school that is teaching THIS SUNDAY at the ROSE BOWL !!!!!

I always imagine myself rollerblading at the beach. Sunny - clear - happy day - of exercise that is so FUN! ANd now I'm taking an actual STEP to make it happen!!!!

I can sign up for as many classes as I want to - so I'm going to take one and see where it takes me!

YAY!!!

Thanks Andrew for sparking the motivation bug in me to take ACTION outside of the comfort zone!!!!!

*catherine :)

[RawTruth]

Wow, Catherine. Affirmations are just so the way to go! How fabulous that you went swimming even though you didn't want to. Today, I walked for 1-1/2 hrs -- walking is the beginning of getting back in shape for me -- but I'm sure I didn't get the benefits that you did swimming. Rollerblading at the Rose Bowl sounds terrific -- I'd go if I didn't already have Sunday plans ... and if I even had rollerblades anymore. Ha! I gave mine away a while back when I'd gotten to know the neighborhood by feel -- the feel of my butt on the sidewalk over and over again! That's so great that you're going to take lessons. You'll be sailing along the boardwalk soon.

[catherinethegreat]

That's so great that you went walking!!!!

One small step for raw foodies......

One giant step out of the box!

*c

[Autumn]

<<operated a bush-hog and rototiller????? Apparently, I haven't stepped into the "greatoutdoors" yet! yur killin me Autumn!>>

Well, Farmer Linda, get thy butt outside then and play in the dirt! It's good for what ails ya!

Aut ;)