“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” - Anais Nin
It’s that time of year again: school’s out for summer!
Campers and staff are headed towards that summer home, classrooms are emptying, and it’s anyone’s guess as to who hits the playground faster - students or teachers. Our instafeeds are littered with tiny humans in their Sunday best graduating pre-k and the taller ones throwing those caps in the air after high school and university. Families and friends are hugging their loved ones enlisting in the military and those saying yes to grad schools; in whitecoat ceremonies, matching or beginning residents are all aflutter with nervous or excitable energy. Adventurers are off on their journeys claiming YOLO, or hitting the summer holiday routes with multi-generational fanfare.
In the northern hemisphere, we’re right there, perched on the edge of endings and beginnings, leaps and launches, gratitude for what was and energy for what’s to come. Whether tinderbox or launchpad, graduation or first day, this time of year is filled with frizzle and heart coupled with a generous dose of ‘I can’t believe it’s here.’
When you’re on the edge of big decisions, changing seasons, milestone moments, or the fine line between doing and being, how do you meet the moment?
Summer solstice is only a week away, bringing with it the longest day of light for those north of the equator and the opposite for those south. While the solstice marks the summer season, mindsets and attitudes are already entrenched in the warmth and wild moments of the season of freedom.
It’s where we throw off the bowlines, set our spirits alight, ditch restrictive schedules, take our naptime on the sand, and definitely, definitely make time for ice cream and adventures. Name it a call to action for a fun season or one where we honor endings, celebrate middles, and embrace next - summer is the bridge between what was and what will be.
When perched on the edge of the wild and wonderful or the waiting, where do you land?
It’s the walk to the end of the high dive, the ladder to the top of the jungle gym slide, or the cliff’s edge where the bungee or zip line affixes. There, on the literal edge of the wide-open space, we stand. What are we feeling? What comes to mind? Can we breathe deeply? Do we need a supportive hand to hold? Do we need to feel or can we decide to be ready? The precipice is real, the moment is powerful, the take away a learning and growth cue. Once we jump, slide, or plummet, there’s no going back.
Can we embrace that person, the one we get to become if we dare?
On the spectrum of fly or stay grounded, where do you teeter?
When I find myself in moments where I need a dose of magical joy, Disney is often on demand in our house. Sometimes it’s Frozen, sometimes it’s Moana, and sometimes it’s Raya and the Last Dragon. All with similar themes: badass fierce heroines who find themselves entrenched in a whole host of unknown and adventure. In each one, there’s a pivotal point where they can stay put, leap with abandon, or aim for somewhere in between (which has its own level of stuckness). At one point, Raya and her dragon mate are to jump across an abyss. She jumps, yet her friend’s claws grip tight to the ledge and they quickly return to the place they began. We can choose to vault or choose to stay. Even Disney proves there’s no in between. There’s no wrong choice, but indecision can lead to disaster.
To journey ahead or remain? The perch demands an answer.
Ellen Langer, Harvard’s phenom and teacher deemed Mother of Mindfulness, empowers us to make decisions right. Dr. Laurie Santos, Yale’s professor of the most well-known course The Science of Well-Being, emboldens us on lessons of happiness and following our paths to our true authentic selves. Arthur C. Brooks doles out lessons of happiness, connectivity, and behavior management, pointing us in the direction of taking risks, leaning into the uncomfortable, and offers messages of how to lead in the current climate.
We can choose to listen to the lessons, embrace the unknown ahead, or bury our heads in the sand, stymied by the weight of the what ifs, the maybes, and I really want to be sure of this type of thinking. If we flip the intonation, land on the positive, and change the ‘what if's' to the powerful, well, ‘what if’, does it change how our feet and our souls feel while perched on that edge?
The choices are ours to make. The risks are ours to take. The stay where we are or do it for the plot twist kind of moments are ours to take by the reins and do with what we will.
Decades from now, what do you want to look back on and know you chose? When you sit in your hammock as an octogenarian, how will you see that edge, those decisions, those choices? Who do you wish to become? That person is waiting for you, on the edge, looking around, knowing there is no certainty, each choice carrying a risk level, each one a bit of unknown.
As you find yourself in the season of summer, the halfway point of the entire year, or dangling in the space between one milestone celebrated and another to come, can you find your footing on this edge?
Whether you’re on the path of decision making, honoring moments, or leaping into your next steps, inhale a deep breath, steady your toes, take in the views, embrace the people and work that brought you here, and make your decision. Ready or not, here you come.
Happy summer, friends. Embrace the joy.
Three tips and tricks for grounding while perched on the edge
Trust the journey
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come” - Joseph Campbell
A joyous roar erupted in New York City when the Knicks secured a win in the NBA finals ending a 53-year drought. Tears flowed freely, people danced in the streets, and strangers hugged on subways.
For a moment, there was nothing but utter enjoyment raining in the streets.
In a team sport dependent on everyone doing their part, players hoisted a golden trophy, yet it was the vision of those standing there that manifested it all. A center who had been passed over for years, money that was left off one contract to create a team that would grind to make it happen and dream it into fruition, and a coach who had been fired more times than hired to lead the pack. Theirs wasn’t a done deal by any means.
Theirs was a story of grit, hustle, resilience, and a do the work off the court that would look easy when done on the court kinda attitude. Theirs was a journey of a difficult road, one that even brought legendary fan Spike Lee to tears. They saw it before it happened, then worked their butts off to make it so.
The journey is rarely a straight line to anywhere. Each day can look 100% different from the previous one. Each decade a different direction, different passions, yet same human. Your journey of becoming unfolds as you wander. We can’t think it into fruition; we must walk the way. From one mountain to the next - trust the process, even when you stumble, you’re still headed forward. Your adventure awaits.
The vast expanse
“Being out on the edge, with everything at risk, is where you learn and grow the most” - Jim Whittaker
Travel is one of my joys. I dream about it, make lists that never cease to end, and am always up for the next expedition. Some of my favorite spaces are in the vast expanse, the wilderness before us, the ones where the vista extends beyond where your eyes can see. Think canyon rim, sand dune peak, forest treeline, valley edge, and especially the horizon beyond the ocean’s crashing waves. That wide open landscape is where dreams take flight, decisions are made, clarity takes hold, and manifesting is made possible. It’s that place between, where the nervous system has a chance to settle, where possibilities are endless, and imagination can take the reins.
Right there, perched on the edge of potential, take a deep breath. Let your spirit breathe easily. Ready your wings. Your time is now.
Stepping into the unknown
“It’s only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve” - John Cleese
How many of us remember learning to walk? At some point, early, late or on time, our tiny legs decided it was time to push and see what would happen. We fell down, often. We grabbed onto anything we could find to pull ourselves up. We perched on ledges far and wide, testing our grip strength before we could speak the words longevity test. We wobbled, stumbled, tried again, danced, wiggled, and even giggled when we navigated that wavering first step. All of this happened in nanoseconds, no doubt, no worry, no official decision tree, just doing the thing. And then we did it again. And again. And again.
Along our life’s path, we’ve repeated those steps many times, sometimes with various versions of the cha-cha. There were times we leapt with abandon, and others we needed a helping hand to nudge our next step. While Queen Elsa does it while blasting a ballad and Moana ziplines across the great heights of palm trees, for most of us, our momentous moments are accompanied by our inner heart song that guides our choices.
It’s not for the faint of heart. There are no guarantees or official right answers. There’s no black and white, no certainty, no definites - but like our GPS, we can always adjust, pivot, or even retrace some steps if necessary in order to head to new destinations. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is decide.
The rest is up to you.
See you out there, friends.
Please click the photo below for a collection of my Through the Eyes of an Educator columns:
Stacey Ebert, our Educational Travels Editor, is a traveler at heart who met her Australian-born husband while on a trip in New Zealand. Stacey was an extracurricular advisor and taught history in a Long Island public high school for over fifteen years, enjoying both the formal and informal educational practices. After a one year 'round the world honeymoon, travel and its many gifts changed her perspective. She has since left the educational world to focus on writing and travel. She is energetic and enthusiastic about long term travel, finding what makes you happy and making the leap. In her spare time she is an event planner, yogi, dark chocolate lover, and spends as much time as possible with her toes in the sand.
Check out her website at thegiftoftravel.wordpress.com for more of her travel musings.