safety last

Obviously I’ll have to preface that title a bit. I’m not referring to physical safety, or emotional safety… I’m not advocating breathing in second-hand smoke or disregarding seatbelts. I’m talking about exiting the comfort zone.

The reason we even have a comfort zone in the first place is because at some point we pushed the boundary. We stepped outside – likely out of necessity, possibly out of peer pressure – and tried something new… we ate fries with (vegan) mayonnaise instead of ketchup for the first time at some point and we never looked back. Perhaps we bungee jumped off a bridge once, and have done it 49 more times since… we tried something new and it didn’t kill us.

All of our great accomplishments, be they University credentials or campfire stories, came from exceptional (to us) circumstances which is what makes them stories worth telling.

I’d go one further and say that the moments of my life in which that my sense of wonder and joy were at their peak, it was under some level of duress, stress, and discomfort – and it stretched me. These experiences for me included asking a pretty girl out, becoming a dad, buying a car, buying my house, playing my first live show, putting out my first album… some of these things I’ve only done once, and some I’ve done dozens of times.

So, the question becomes – what next?

What height will I aspire to reach that I have not yet reached? Or what milestone will I reach for with my next album that I have not yet reached?

I’ve got a few irons in the fire, personally – and all of the are exciting. he most obvious to me is the collection of songs that my band the Confusionaires are going to start cycling through in order to make a new album. We’ll certainly be trying some things we’ve never tried and pushing for some goals we’ve not yet attained.

I want to be able to look back on it with pride. I hope other people do, too… but it’s mostly for me at this stage.

My daughter is embarking on a potentially life-changing experience right away, and as proud as I am of her, the experience is hers. I can’t wait to hear all about it when she returns from the other side of the world.