Into the volcano I go

For the past couple of days, lines from my favorite movie (Joe Versus the Volcano) keep popping into my head. I don't know if I'm just thinking of them because of whatever's happening at that moment or for some other reason. Anyway, as I was walking tonight, I thought of the scene where the two main characters are about to jump into a volcano. Patricia says to Joe: "We'll take this leap, and we'll see. We'll jump, and we'll see. That's life, right?"

I feel like my life has become about jumping into the volcano. By nature, I don't think I'm a risk-taker. My whole life I've been the one who analyzes everything, usually driving myself crazy in my head. These days, however, I seem to be leaping ... sometimes without thinking.

I'd like to think that I'm smart about taking risks. But I must admit that every now and then I do something really stupid. It happens. What I like about simply jumping is that you never know what might happen. I used to always expect the worst, which is why I never jumped. Now, I tend to think about the good possibilities. And I often find that I'm pleasantly surprised.

I've talked a lot about experiencing new things this past year. I think that's about taking risks. With just a few exceptions, nothing bad has happened. In fact, as you know if you are a regular reader, I'm having so much fun. Am I ready to jump into a volcano? Well, not a real one. But I am taking more and more leaps of faith and I like it.