On the Cusp of Stupidity

There are so many chapters we all go through. We resemble books, pages of exposition and varying levels of climax, all over the course of our lives. Some, unfortunately, have short stories, and some don’t have happy endings. If you’re lucky though, you have moments that make up the highlights—almost like a “best of” section of your life. Sometimes those memories are the pivotal points that might not have been the best but brought you to something that was even better. All life is—is a collection of moments. These bursts of stupidity and courage that make you say, “I can’t believe I did that” and have you continue to say that for the rest of time. Taking chances when you wanted to just take a nap, and falling in and out of love passionately, like a child who finally got the opportunity to pick out their own clothes. There is no rhyme or reason for why things happen in the moment, and only some find the connections later on down the line, and only some embrace the unknown. To choose to fill your life with stories of wonder and risk is showing you realize it is an honor to be alive, and I think a lot of the time we forget that it’s so short. We play it safe, for the fear of making a fool of ourselves to someone or something that probably won’t matter in a matter of weeks. We hold our tongue with telling someone how we feel, just to stave off the possibility of heartbreak, even though the not telling them is probably killing us more. We calculate the risk in almost everything we do, but we don’t calculate the reward. The times we say “fuck it” and throw caution to the wind, and kiss the guy, or kiss the girl, or quit the job, those are the times that we revel in later in life. Not the times we almost quit the job, or almost kissed the girl. Those are the things we categorize as regrets, things that could have been. Things change so rapidly in this life, that by the time we decide to make a choice, it could have already been made for us. We have to start living life, and not just enduring it. It is a beautiful thing to be nervous and scared and hopeful and anxious. It means there is still a heart beating in our chest, pumping blood through our veins, giving us a reason to stand up and make a decision. In a world that is so full of choices, we need to take advantage. The next time you are faced with a fight or flight moment, fucking jump. Pretend that you can fly because you might just surprise yourself. Betting on ourselves is the scariest thing we can do because, it means that whatever the outcome, it’s on us. There is no one to blame, but us. Take pride in your failures, and let them guide you to your next move. Be humbled, and be gracious of the way that you took a shot. Be proud of all of your synapses firing and misfiring because it is what makes you, you. Nothing is worse than wondering what could have happened. Staying home and wishing doesn’t fill your life with stories, it fills them with what ifs. To live a life with no what ifs is to live a life worth telling about to your children, and to your life partner. Living life a little bit reckless is to be brave, and an inspiration to others who would rather “sit this one out.” Be the motivation for someone else, by betting on you. Show them that even when life decides to kick you in the gut, you gather everything inside of you to prove that you’re just getting started. To be on the cusp of doing something potentially stupid with the best of intentions is to do justice to the body that your soul is living in.