Ramblings and Reflections with Rob- Living Life with Both Feet In...or Not

I just had a birthday… my 53’rd time around the sun, and with any personal event in life, it often causes time to reflect.

Trust me, it’s weird to be at the age where you can argue you “earn reflection and sharing of wisdom”- accumulated enough years under my belt to at least try to convince someone I have something worthwhile to say.

It’s not just about years, its about experience, there are people half my age that have lived twice the life in experience (good and bad), and people much older than me who might argue, they really have not lived much at all.

As I was having some coffee overlooking the Ohio river and downtown Newburgh Indiana, I asked myself, what is vibing in me right now, looking back over the years, and at the same time, looking forward to all the life still to come, what is one nugget I can share?

It came to be super quick, dropped right without a sliver of doubt.

It’s about living with both feet in.

I would like you to ask yourself, have you lived your life with both feet in?

Like a recurring dream, I have had aspects of living life with one foot in and one foot out for many different reasons:

• Insecurities, doubts
• Not fully believing in myself
• Not wanting to disappoint others.
• Staying stuck to the feeling of “comfort”.
• Not willing to have “the hard conversation”.
• Etc etc,,,

Ultimately the direction my life was led and at what speed was directly correlated to me having both feet in or one foot in or one foot out.

You can liken this to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, early in the beginning, The refusal of the call.

What I have noticed personally, as well as working with others, is that yes! There is a distinct refusal of the call (especially with men- seems they need a cataclysmic event to shake them awake to life)- and there is also this, half in, half out, recognizing the call, convincing oneself you are accepting the call, albeit in a half-hearted approach, often due to holing on to an illusionary perception of comfort and security. (this is like ripping the band aid off sloowwwwlllllyyyyy)

Until what often happens, the universe will push you in when you are not looking, pulling the comfort and security right out from under your feet.

And…sometimes the illusion and the stories persist, we hold on to the attachments that slowly drain the lifeforce from us. (now it’s like debriding the wound sloowwwwlllllyyyyy)

And like it or not, we eventually make it to our inner cave, where Joseph Campbell describes it, as, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek”.

It’s true folks, myth becomes reality…

I feel the most profound thing about being on this side of 50- is that you truly get permission to live as your authentic self (you only need the permission from yourself)- and , your authentic self is the gift, the treasure, the elixir that Joseph Campbell talks about, that you bring back from the cave after facing your greatest fears.

Thanks for listening…

Rob