Have the courage .....

Have the courage to venture forth into the unknown with an open mind and heart to experience God's people and creation; to be an explorer in already explored lands.

It is a long held tradition for a family to have a coat of arms, a crest, a sigil, a motto; I don't know enough about my diverse heritage (Italian, Scotch, Russian, Polish) to know what any of mine could be.  In the absence of the ancestral facts I have defined the above as my retirement motto.  

The reason I have this motto is that I have spent most of my life feeling afraid and still do.  I am innately shy and insecure and these qualities often have me feeling unsure of whatever is before me.  If I give into them they can be immobilizing.

I was, however, raised to faith and be courageous and brave.  I was taught that bravery is not rushing in when you are not afraid, that is impulsiveness.  Bravery is going forth with trepidation when you are afraid and continuing forward despite your fear. 

Faith, is truly believing that all will be well.  What well is, how well will look and feel may not match any idea I have, but it will be well.  The following has long been my most beloved prayer.

 "All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” ― Julian of Norwich 

My faith and my courage have led me to try things that were scary and overwhelming but then became exciting and wonderful.  The rush of meeting my fears and overcoming them has conditioned me to keep transcending all that stands in my way.  If I had not life would have passed me by and I would have missed out on, well, just about everything I have done.  

But every time I stand before something new, I have to go through the process of being afraid and then overcoming the fear.  This is what happened when I began planning this upcoming trip.  

After the first rush of excitement about where I might go and what I might see and do, as I got into the nuts and bolts of planning, I started to come up with a myriad of reasons why I shouldn’t go.

• What if I can’t figure a good plan of where to go when and where to stay?
• What if I get lost?
• What if I have car trouble?  
• What if I can’t handle the long driving part? 
• What if I don’t meet anyone to chat with?
• What if I have an auto accident? 
• What if I fall and break something? 
• What if I get sick?
• What if I get a rash?
• What if there is an emergency at home? 
• What if there is bad weather? 
• What if there is Armageddon? 
• What if there is a Tsunami? 
• What if Nova Scotia sinks into the ocean? 
• What if I get kidnapped? Taken hostage?  
• What if?  What if?  What if?

It is really quite amazing the list my imagination can create of all the possible things that could go wrong.  Fortunately, I have learned to rationalize with myself that this is all irrational thinking.  And I am most thankful that I can, because then I am courageous and free to venture forth. 

I have had the necessary long conversations with myself, being rational and reasonable.  

I will never be more than a 1 day drive from home, so, if need be, I can turn around and go back.  

I have GPS, AAA, cell phone with international roaming and a hot spot, so, I am not really going to be alone at any time.
  

The many catastrophes I have imagined are just as likely (which is pretty unlikely) to happen if I stay at home.

I am ready and I am really excited about this adventure.  I will journal this with pictures, assuming I figure how to get them from my phone or camera to here and that I have an Internet connection.

Next post will be from the road.

Ciao!