Close and Safe, Open and Free

Back in high school, my friends and I were sitting around late one night cutting out pieces of magazines, trading markers, and enthusiastically filling up what we called “quote books.” In essence, it was a creative expression of words and quotes we found inspiring.

One quote I discovered that evening stood out. I’ve remembered it in different seasons, and for whatever reason, it came to mind again today:

Go now, and live.

Experience. Dream. Risk. Close your eyes and jump. Enjoy the freefall. Choose exhilaration over comfort. Choose magic over predictability. Choose potential over safety. Wake up to the magic of everyday life. Make friends with your intuition. Trust your gut. Discover the beauty of uncertainty. Know yourself fully before you make promises to another. Make millions of mistakes so that you will know how to choose what you really need. Know when to hold on and when to let go. Love hard and often and without reservation. Seek knowledge. Open yourself to possibility. Keep your heart open, your head high and your spirit free. Embrace your darkness along with your light. Be wrong everyday once in a while, and don't be afraid to admit it. Awaken to the brilliance in ordinary moments. Tell the truth about yourself no matter what the cost. Own your reality without apology. See goodness in the world. Be Bold. Be Fierce. Be Grateful. Be Wild, Crazy and Gloriously Free. Be You.

Go now, and live.

― Jeanette LeBlanc

I’m honestly not sure what reminded me of it today. Maybe it was my walk/run this morning. Part of the path was spent on a trail with a lovely spring green canopy above me. 

Close and safe.

A later part of the path involved a curve leading into a long stretch of water that opened up before me with mountains in the distance. It made me grin and felt like my soul marveled.

Open and free.

Something about expanses of water makes my heart leap and like I’ve taken a huge breath of relief.

Close and Safe. Open and Free.

Both are needs and desires I have. Both express contradictory sides of myself.

I think the quote does the same thing. Each time I read it, a different part stands out to me. Those standout parts coincide with the season I’m in, resulting in some contradiction.

There is beauty in the contradiction. 

If we’re honest, we’re all walking contradictions to some degree.

And you know what? That’s OK.

Do you see it in your own life? Where? Is there a way you could embrace and accept that contradiction more fully?