Leaps of Faith

Recently a good friend of mine retired rather suddenly after making a decision in favor of her personal life over her professional career. Within a three month period, she retired from her very responsible and well respected professional position, sold her home and moved from New Mexico to Florida with her companion.

Now, instead of have having a non-stop, never-ending diet of responsibility for a professional non-profit, she's taking in afternoon baseball games, catching up on reading, visiting with friends, both old and new, and talking long walks on the beach. The latest adventure was an allegator that had taken up residence in the condo pond just outside her patio...

I was asked to say a few things about my good friend at a retirement event, and one of the things that I came across was a quote by Margaret Shepherd: Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith. Her decision was certainly that. And it wasn't easy.

Her decision took several of us by complete surprise and led to an ongoing round of self-examination regarding what it is I really want in my life and where the "edges" of comfort have settled into stone fences that provide a false sense of security.

Security is really a state of mind -- and when left unexamined for long periods of time -- change can profoundly shake one from complacency. Not unlike "the Emperor has no clothes" -- when you surround yourself with those who view the world in the same way you do, it is easy to fall into a false sense of "rightness" and security about your perspectives.

When my good friend suddenly made such a major change in her life, it caused many of us to consider what the "leap of faith" might be needed in our worlds to reconnect us to the people, activities and ideas that reignite our lives with meaning and passion.

So here's to the brave souls who make leaps of faith, large and small!