A blank spot on your life
During the AK Costa Rica Riverboarding trip we watched a movie Kevin had brought about a bunch of insane Russian rafters who challenge the rivers of Siberia. (The flick’s called “A Glorious Way To Die”.)
In discussing portaging rapids though, the leader of the group makes the statement that to do so “will leave a blank spot on your life” where there could have ostensibly been a great memory or life-changing experience.
Instead, it’s just blank.
I like that description because it’s so concise. It’s perfectly ambiguous, and yet I think most people would catch on to the point you’re making – regardless of topic – if you say that there’s a blank spot on your life.
I have lived a life with as few blank spots as possible. But there have been times, instances, situations, places, and people, where I’ve made what I consider a “mistake”. I have blank spots there.
I do not consider any wrong choice I’ve ever made to be a blank spot. I have learned from each and every one of them.
It’s the choices I made to avoid any action – and thus any success or learning (I don’t say failure because the only failure would be to not learn from a stumble) or consequence – that are the blank spots.
The times I was afraid, and said or did nothing.
The times I was unsure of myself, despite everything in my soul being damn sure…and so I did nothing.
The times I just plain choked. (I choked today. Repeatedly. And then had plenty of time in a transportation seat to think about it.)
I hate those times, I really do. Because I remember them plain as day, decades later.
I also remember those times when I nutted up and decided that life or death, success or learning I was going to act. I was going to experience, and I was going to create a memory.
Those memories are so fresh, so powerful, so vivid in my mind. They are brilliant and enjoyable reminders of what life can be like when I choose to take up the paintbrush of action and enthusiastically attack the canvas of life.
Regardless of what the details of that painting look like – whether I stumbled and created a disaster or whether I painted a Josh Galt Sistine Chapel – I would rather see some sort of image…than a canvas of simply white, blank, nothingness; where living could have happened.
Make it your aim – never leave a blank spot on your life.