Maybe it’s the way I’m hardwired, I don’t know. In my walk thru life I see opportunities every day. I’m more of a YES man than a NO man. See, it’s like you’ve heard before, I don’t want to be 80 or 90 years old and look back on my life and say, “I wish I would’ve”. Living conservatively is not in me. I have a hard-coded set of morals and values that I will not compromise. That being said, I’m down for whatever.
It almost makes my skin crawl or at least it baffles my mind to the point that I want to scream when someone is afforded an opportunity and they say NO. “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek” – Joseph Campbell. Many, MANY folks are “fine” with mediocrity. I am not. It’s like owning a Corvette and never breaking the speed limit. Owning an airplane and never letting it leave the ground. Buying a house on the lake and never getting in the water or fishing. What’s the point? We, as humans, have free will and intellect to make decisions to do amazing things. Why limit ourselves?
“A bit of advice
Given to a young Native American
At the time of his initiation:
As you go the way of life,
You will see a great chasm. Jump.
It is not as wide as you think.”
I’m no grand old wizard on a mountain top but, at 42, I’ve learned some things in life. TAKE CHANCES!!! You have to break the mold of the norm that you are in. Many people are just comfortable doing life like they’ve always done. World travel? It baffles me why more people wouldn’t want to do it. They see these pictures of exotic places in faraway lands and think, “Man, I’d love to be there and see that”. THE GOOOOO!!! “Well, it’s just too expensive and I really don’t have the time”. Then you’ll never truly live. Not because of the decision you’re making directly relating to the cool place you’d like to go, but because of your attitude. You’re an excuse maker and in your world, in your mind, that’s OK. You’re OK with settling. We are capable of so much more. What’s funny is when those same people finally DO make that trip to that faraway place they are like, “Man!! It was the most incredible experience. It was more than I could’ve imagined. The smell and sounds were amazing”!! SEE? See what you ALMOST missed out on? Because your hesitation and attitude of settling with what may never be, you almost missed that opportunity.
“So what if that opportunity was missed? I’m gonna be dead someday and does it really matter if I took that opportunity. I can’t take it to the grave”. I’ll tell you what! Legacy. How do you plan to ever inspire anyone like your children or peers if you have no experience to share with them? You may have a friend on their death bed. They may need to feel some hope. Who are you to give that to them if you’re not an opportunist? Take chances in life, folks. LIVE!!! We only have a short amount of time on this rock. If someone presents you with an opportunity…seize it!! There’s a statistic out there that if you continually pass on opportunities, people will stop offering them to you. It’s because you’ve created a pattern of “NO”. Don’t be that person. Take risks, step out of your comfort zone. You must break free of your mold to grow. I’ll leave you with the following analogy of growth and stress.
“Because the shell of a lobster is hard and inelastic it must shed its shell in order to grow. Ecdysis, commonly called shedding, occurs when a lobster extrudes itself from its old shell. The overall process of preparing for, performing, and recovering from ecdysis is known as molting. Unlike animals that are soft-bodied and have skin, a lobster’s shell, once hard, will not grow much more. Lobsters show intermediate growth; that is, they grow throughout their lives and therefore spend much of that time preparing for, or undergoing ecdysis.
Between molts a lobster’s flesh becomes densely packed within its shell, and a new shell, soft and flexible, is laid down inside the old. Shortly before molting several things take place. Calcium is moved from the old shell and deposited in special structures called gastroliths that are located on the stomach wall. As blood leaves the appendages the flesh of the claws shrivels to about a quarter of their normal size to make it easier for them to be withdrawn. Just prior to molting, a lobster absorbs lots of water, which causes the new shell to swell, eventually pushing away the old one.
During the molting process a lobster throws itself into a V-shape, lies on its side and begins to withdraw from its old shell. The withdrawal begins when the large flexible membrane that joins the carapace and abdomen stretches and splits. At the beginning of the molt the membranes holding the gastroliths break and the calcium is thrown into the stomach. From there it is re-absorbed so that it may help in the immediate re-hardening of the new shell. Escaping from its old shell may take the lobster anywhere from several minutes to a half hour, depending on environmental conditions and the size of the animal. Once free of the old shell the lobster flips itself into its normal position.
Over the next few hours the lobster, who resembles a black rubber toy, will absorb water and will swell to reach its new size. By gaining this sea water it may gain about 15% in size and 40-50% in weight. The new shell has everything the old shell had, including all the same appendages, gills, mouthparts, antennae, antennules, eyestalks, and pleopods, as well as every hair, spine and bristle! Amazingly a lobster even has the ability to regenerate lost appendages. For example, a lobster may “throw” a claw to escape a dangerous situation, such as a fight with another lobster. After its next molt the claw will begin to regenerate, and eventually a new claw will replace the lost one.
Molting takes place within the safety of the lobsters burrow. Because of its new soft shell the lobster is easy prey and must remain in hiding for at least a week or two. A newly molted lobster will begin to eat its old shell and other material high in calcium in order to strengthen its new shell. During the months that a lobster shell takes to fully harden, tissue replaces the water that was gained prior to molting. In effect, the lobster fully grows into its shell and the cycle of molting and growing begins again.
Many factors control when a lobster will molt; water temperature, food supply, salinity, type of bottom, depth of water and availability of shelter are some examples. Although lobsters molt quite frequently at first, five or six times in the first season, as they grow the length of time between molts increases. An adult lobster will molt only once or twice a year...” — The American Lobster
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