Living Outside the Bubble

One of my friend’s on FaceBook shared the picture below, and it emcompasses everything that I have come to believe in over the past few months.

I spent 45 years of my life blissfully unaware of anything that existed outside of the bubble that I had created for myself.  As the years went by the thickness of my bubble grew and grew, eventually I wasn’t able to see beyond its barrier and for me nothing else existed in the world.

When we are first born, we are born outside of this bubble.  Think about it, as a child you are not weighed down by the weight of life itself.  It is our experiences as we grow up that force us into the bubble, call it a defence mechanism.  All the negative things that happen to us push us just a bit further inside.

For me, and many of us we first start to lose our fearlessness when we are kids and playing anh hurt ourselves.  In that moment we start to live with fear and play it safe.  You slow down a bit when running full speed because last time you tripped and scraped your knee.  As we age things like peer pressure and wanting to fit in, to be like everyone else teaches us to hold back, to not be the true version of ourself, to settle for less because we want to be accepted, to be like everyone else.

My first marriage was a perfect example of settling due to fear and insecurities.  I wanted to have children before I was 30 and settled for a woman that I knew wouldn’t make me happy, I just that she would be a good mother because she worked in the childcare industry.  I kept the same job for 20 years but was only ever to reach at certain level in the company as when I got comfortable it became about being comfortable and I stopped growing.  I was afraid of change.  This all led to a dull life and just surviving.

I spent 25 years trapped in this existence.

I have been rediscovering my childhood through the eyes of my son, he will turn 4 next January and I am so blessed that I have been able to stay at home with him over these last three months.  Everyday I get the chance to see the world through his eyes and have such a unique perspective on everything.  Watching and PLAYING WITH Austin on a daily basis I can see his confidence as his explores new things, he is constantly laughing and always happy, he wants the most out of every day he is with me never stops asking me to play, he has no fear when he embraces the unknown and always has an abundance of  energy.

He lives every second of every day outside of this bubble.

And I just had an epiphany as I was pulling the banana bread that I just baked out of the to cool, it’s our job as parents to help our children exist outside of this bubble their entire life.  Imagine that.  To teach them to continue to live their lives with the eyes and the attitude of a child that has no fear, that embraces the unknown that doesn’t settle for comfort and will continually to test their boundaries and grow.

I knew this journey I am on would take me to some amazing places, and I knew the power a parent has being able to influence and shape the destiny of their children.  Both good and bad.  I am only now learning what that really means and I am excited for each and everyday that the future holds for us.  One filled with love, testing our limits and growing spiritually, physically and emotionally in every way possible.

In my own life I want each and everyday to be filled with an abundance of happiness, to live without limits and embrace the unknown.  I am able to do this more and more everyday, I celebrate the little success and the small steps that I can take to move forward and further away from that bubble until it seems like a distant memory or a lifetime ago.

Yesterday after school I was picking up Jennifer as I always do, this beautiful 5 year old is definitely an old soul and looks at the world in a way that I absolutely love.

She asked me to dance with her while we waiting for Megan to meet us outside, and I found myself standing on a wooden stage holding her in my arms slow dancing to John Lennon’s Imagine playing on my phone.  It didn’t matter to me that a 100 other parents and kids were watching us, we were dancing and singing like no one was watching.  As we were doing this the most magical thing happened.

Almost every other kid in Jennifer’s class joined us on the stage and danced around with us.  Here I am all 6 foot, 5 inches of me dancing with my daughter for all the world to see and a host of other children circling around us without a care in the world. Now close your eyes and imagine the smile I had on my face.  Got it?  I challenge you to do something today to put that smile back on your face again.

That my friends is the power of living outside your bubble.

And I guarantee that you will be glad you did.  Have a great day everyone!