(*Terms and Conditions apply)
This summer has been momentous for many people, and for many reasons… and not just because it’s the first normal(ish) year since the pandemic.
This profundity - though hard to put a finger on - is something that has resonated personally, and perhaps on more levels than I’m willing or able to fully articulate in ‘caption language.’
For want of a better explanation, I heard a quote not so long ago which said… ‘true growth is what happens when you grow tired of your own sh*t’… and let me tell you, nothing sums up the sentiments behind my summer 22 strategy better.
In fact, if I had to unpack the rationale that led to one pivotal #fts moment earlier this year, when the trajectory for a summer of *almost* fearless adventure was set…
This quote would be it.
4 plane trips
One mountain road
4 tube rides
And one riverboat journey later…
And I have a picture of ‘progress’, the likes of which will probably be lost on the many… but perhaps appreciated by the few.
By committing these ‘achievements’ to digital ink, I am of course acutely aware that in the realms of reasons for self-celebration, surviving the ‘gauntlet’ of a two hour plane journey is hardly up there with the Degrees and job promotions.
In fact, to the next person, this tale of triumph over anxious adversity might look like little more than an itinerary of an average week, and even less worthy of back-patting yourself about.
In spite of the happy ending undertones to this post, however, it’s important to note that one decisive moment, does not a Catastrophic Thinking antidote make. What the decisiveness HAS done, however, is to make the nagging noise of ‘what if’ more muted… and easier to override with more helpful thoughts.
As this summer draws to a close, I’m reflecting on these small steps, and their giant leap for Anxious Kind, and also reconciling that while there is sadness in summer’s ending…there’s relief, somewhat, in the foundations that the season has laid for a new, fearless beginning.