“The conditions aren’t ideal ya know”

“It’s tough out there”

Look at those rain clouds on the horizon 

Better stay put

Better stay comfortable 

No thanks

That’s not for me 

I went trudging down that hill, away from what was safe 

Into the valley 

What would I find there?

I didn’t know myself 

Is this nothing but a really dumb and risky idea?

Or could I discover something magical amongst the narrow and unworn path?

When I was a child my favourite thing to do was to go on adventures with my sisters. We lived on acres of bushland and we would run around to see what magic we could find!

A really old coin 

A strange bird 

A pretty leaf to press 

There was always this sense of wonder

And a freedom that lay in a lack of reasoning

Those were the happiest times of my youth

Then I grew up and this thing happened and did what many of us do. We buy into this idea that straight paths and manicured gardens are what’s best for us

 So we did what all our gurus, our parents or our teachers told us. We got degrees and day jobs and started living for the weekend

And we stopped trudging around the bush for no reason
We stopped believing in fairies, Santa Claus and the Easter bunny
And we stopped believing in our silly little dreams 

A few weeks ago I quit my job

With nothing else lined up 

I put myself out there 

Nothing yet 

Interview

Rejection 

“What’s next for you!?” Was a daily inquest.

And I had no answer at all

I’m supposed to be functioning adult right!?

How could I just quit my job like that? How odd.

Well, I am odd. Always have been. And the little girl inside of me longed to adventure into the unknown again.

I couldn’t say no to her any longer 

The other day my husband took me away to a farm down south 
A much needed rest for our souls after a challenging month

And we walked down into the valley 

Not knowing what we were doing or what we were going to find 

And it felt like a metaphor for my life 

Puffed and wheezing and unsure of where we were

Had I made a huge mistake? 

What if I can’t get back up that hill again?

We went the wrong way but it didn’t matter because we were together 

We hit dead ends, but it was ok we just turned back and found another way

And then we hit the most beautiful green field, covered in mist and an old farmhouse 

I remembered what my friend said to me a week before

Fortune favours the brave Gemma

What if we treated our uncertain seasons with a sense of childlike curiousity?

What if we got more comfortable with not really knowing and not having a well formulated answer for every single facet of our worlds? 

And what if we let go of the straight and narrow path

and instead embraced a trudge into an unknown place

I wonder what you might find?

I have a feeling there’s more treasure to be found there.

Be free my childlike friend 

X Gem X