The balancing act that this concept presents gives us such an opportunity for growth. I think you’re right on Matt. This reminds me of an essay by Makoto Fujimura that I read. He talks about walking backward into the futre. Check it out here: http://makotofujimura.blogspot.com/search?q=walking+backwards By the way, Mako is amazing, I highly recommend his writings.

The first thing I thought of in reading this post was a song my friends and I used to listen to in high school by Zero 7 which has a main line that says, “Don’t Be Afraid of Letting Go.” I’ve always thought of this to be letting go of inhibitions or letting go or certain things in reality but I never really considered the letting go to apply to past experiences.

I’m not really the type to dwell on the past, however, I’ve learned recently that there are some things with which I’ve grown to simply be comfortable, perhaps much like a child that does not want to try new foods. I like the foods I’ve been eating and while I’m curious about the other foods, I’m not truly ready to try them.

That said, I like what you’re saying but in some cases I find it very hard to follow through with this particular concept of letting go. I know I just need to return to my mentality of four years ago and remember it’s like jumping into the water from high above: it looks scary but once the first step is taken there is no turning back before the experience is over (and with jumping into water the experience tends to be exhilarating). I don’t want to write much more but I find it interesting that there is another perspective to be considered with this same thought: if there is no turning back once the first step is taken the first step needs to be one in the right direction, and if this is the case how do we discern what is right?

…With that ramble I have to say I loved Bill Nye the Science Guy – without him I would not be able to balance 2 forks on 2 toothpicks and a salt shaker.

When rock climbing, you have to find a handhold, grip with all your might, and heave upward. At a certain point, however, the appropriateness of that handhold is lost when one needs to reach up higher and grab a new handhold.

Grab, pull, release, repeat. If you want to climb, you have to do it all.