Being Reckless

When we are young we jump into the pool whether we can swim or not.  We have no fear.  Either we swim or we drown.

Before the age of thirty important things begin to shape the rest of our lives.

The first is:
We become aware of ourselves and our own thinking.  We reach the age of reason.

The second is:
In our new found maturity we begin to think in a more adult way.  We become grown up.

Recklessness and risk are not compatible with age.  Risk becomes something which must be carefully considered.

Paul Arden

The Trap Door Theory

I meet new people all the time.  Traveling and living away from home forces you to be open and take opportunities to make connections and new friends as they come along.  The introduction of new people into your life can be very rewarding but it also comes with its emotional risks.  I like to think of everyone as having a trap door.

Yes, you read correctly.  This is a little theory I have about letting people into your life. 

We meet new people every day; we interact, talk, deal and make minor adjustments to ourselves and our lives daily.  Not all the people we come across will bring forward their trap door and many interactions will have no significant effect on us at all.

However, every so often, a person with a trap door comes along.  A person whom, should you fall into or step onto their trap door, will have an effect on your life in some significant way.  Once a door is open you can jump in, fall in or run in the other direction.  Whether you jump through with enthusiasm, fall clumsily, edge sideways with caution or slide uncontrollably, once in – the door closes and cannot be opened again for you.  No matter what happens, good or bad, you can’t go back.  If you walk away from the trap door then you will remain the same but never know what was in there.

Furthermore, each and every trap door changes you.  Whether a trap door represents friendship, love, lust, a means to an end or hate even; it’s going to change you in some way. 

Some trap doors are huge and easy to fall into; others are small and relatively easy to negotiate a choice with.

I see these trap doors in the image of my favourite childhood television programme – ‘The Trap Door’.  This probably goes a long way in explaining why I’m eternally single.  Ha ha. 

On a serious note – it is important to see these trap doors as opportunities.  Be wary and take some weapons with you but jump in feet first and enjoy the ride.  That is my philosophy from now on.