Find Your Voice

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Try Stuff

For those of you who don't know I am fairly young.  I turned 31 earlier this month.  I have however been privileged to live on 3 continents, an island, 3 countries, have witnessed snow, tropical storms, lava, amazing wildlife, bodyboarded in different oceans, snowboarded on a mountain, worked in vineyards, built a house, waitered, catered, consulted, coached, facilitated, studied, got married, and had a kid.
Maybe I am just restless and perhaps I could have been way more financially successful by now if I denied my heart and curiosity, stuck with tradition and tried one thing.  In reality I see myself as experienced (experience is what successful people call their failures) and would not want to change a thing about my past.  Point is that I love trying stuff.  I know my personality is prone to this but I have really gotten in to it over the years.
I am always very sad to see people hide behind what is safe and never take a risk to try new stuff.  How else can you truly discover your passion and purpose?  I do believe it should come together in work that answers your need for love, money, and meaning but opening up the opportunities is essential.

Even now as I stand on the edge of something new and amazing (moving back to Stellenbosch in a few days) I look forward to transforming my memories into hope and in this way use my past to help create my future.  Ultimately this is at the heart of our spiritual experience - looking back and making sense of what has happened so that we can be more in the future.  It is at the heart of purpose and destiny; purpose and destiny that we choose.  Choose to learn.  Choose to live.  Choose to be transformed and shed the shackles of self-centered ambition generated by our fear and ego.  Who am I, where have I come from and where am I going?  What do I live for?

3 comments:

Nikki Meyer said...

Well said Jan-Derick, totally agree! Looking forward to reading more about the journey ahead :)

Nikki Meyer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
J-D Nel said...

Thanks - hope to share the journey with you!