A Matter of Perspective

I did something brave for the first time in a long time—I took a flight to another city in another state—by myself.

I know people do this all the time. I saw several solo travelers at the airport and on the plane with me. I also saw a lot of families with small children. I saw older people traveling together. I saw a lot of people.

I went to Orlando, Florida for an event for my business.

While there, I did a host of things that I don’t usually do in addition to flying by myself.

I stayed in a room with two people I didn’t know very well. But that was awesome! I made a new friend and cemented another friendship with someone I had only known online before.

We tried different events and activities.

But I still took my “baggage” along. That’s the part that I have regrets about.

My “baggage” has kept me from doing so many things for so long.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am not talking about luggage.

I’m talking about the fears that have held me back for so long. Always afraid to try new things. Always afraid to push beyond.

But I did those things. I took a flight alone and made a new friend. We talked the entire flight from Minneapolis to Orlando. We exchanged information and now I have one more friend!

I tried different things that I normally wouldn’t do. I allowed people to care about me.

I even did something that has taken many people by surprise—I got a tattoo. I called it “my souvenir to myself!”

It took a lot of bravery to do this. I am a wimp when it comes to pain and so I avoid it whenever possible. This would have been one of those “whenever possible” kind of situations, but I thought, “You know, I may not make another trip like this and I definitely want to remember this one.”

This is a nearly constant reminder that I did something that was way outside of my comfort zone. I did something that helped unpack some of the baggage I have carried around that has weighed me down for years.

Fear.

It’s one of the pieces of baggage that I carry with me that keeps me from trying things.