RISK
“Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence means accepting the risk of absence.”
Hadley,
I stood on a cliff today. Two hundred feet above the Balearic Sea. Looking at the sharp rocks below, I thought for a moment about what it would feel like to fall.
It made me think of you, climbing on the plastic play structure in grandma and grandpa's back yard. The way you ignore the railings and stand way up on the top, looking around with your wide, knowing eyes. The adults all worry that you might fall but when they tell you to be careful you just laugh. You never seem afraid.
I wonder if standing up there feels to you the same way those cliffs felt to me: alive and free.
Take risks Hadley. Climb on cliffs. Stand on mountains. Drive fast on open roads. Hop on the back of a hot guy’s motorcycle so you know what the air feels like when you move through it that fast.
Physical risks are good to take because they'll remind you that your body is capable.
Emotional risk are good to take because they'll remind you how many feelings your capable body can hold.
Be vulnerable, Had. Open your heart for people who are worth it. Open it also for people who might not seem worth it—it’s good to know what it feels like to give more for less. When you have ideas, don't be afraid to put them out there. Make messes, make mistakes. Muck it all up. Learn and grow. Stand for whatever you believe in and then change your mind when you learn something new. Tell people what you think and how you feel. Stay open to it all.
Your brain is important but your heart is what keeps you alive.
I love you my little scoop a loop.
Aunt Liz
