Taking A Leap of Faith

Trauma usually brings clarity, a profound change in vision, but for me, perhaps what it brought, above all else was self-actualization.

I'm no Einstein or Mother Teresa, far from it. But for years and years, I perceived myself to be less than ordinary, mundane, small, insignificant and even defected. It was not until I broke away from the meticulous intricate chains of extreme fear and the terrifying prospect of a life without my children, that I gradually realized, through the support of my family, friends and colleagues, that I was not all the things I had made my reality out to be.

Then came the self-pity and frustration. How could I have been so naive? How could I have spent a decade and a half being slowly sucked out of my humanity and reduced to a mere desperate shell of myself? Then came the aha moment... had it not been for this nightmarish time in my life, I would not be here right now, typing away, being me, the real me, raw, up close and not afraid.


So the cosmic truth comes full circle... had it not been for the suffering, there would have been no growth, had it not been for that one moment- that blind leap of faith into the abyss of the unknown, there would be no me, there would be no realization of what was within me, what I could give and what I, with the deepest of gratitude, could receive.

Which brings me to the actual point of this post... what now?




Obviously taking a leap of those magnanimous proportions was taken after a great deal of deliberation and thought (although desperation was a factor as it usually is in such cases). That's not to say, even then, faith- a great deal of it, bucket loads of it was needed. In the grand scheme of things, it definitely paid off, I have no doubt of that.

That ordeal being firmly behind me, I would have expected myself to become an invincible punching bag, oblivious to the death blows the rest of the world might throw at me... but no... surprisingly.....no. I still bruised just as easily, metaphorically speaking of course. The only difference however, was perspective, and it changed my life for the better.

Case in point: Feeling somewhat stagnant and having the urge to strive towards something more altruistic and well as lucrative in my career, I ventured out into the uncharted territories of job hunting. Very long story short, had I stayed cocooned in my little comfort zone, nestled into the warm arms of familiarity, I would never have realized that I had that kind of talent within me. There was a point in time, when nothing was happening and again self-doubt, with her seductive lulls whispered in my ears. She told me I wasn't worth anything more, that I had hit the epitome of my professional development. As she drew me into her hypnotic trance, the voice of experience kept pushing back reminding me about that particular leap of faith I had taken almost two years ago.

So I did, I took the leap. It paid off.

What I'm trying to say is simple. We are all everyone if us endowed with great untapped potential. Having 'your people' as I had 'my people' will take you a long way, but not everyone will have that and even then, as the saying goes, 'You can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink'.

No one in this world who is a somebody, became a somebody without taking a calculated risk. The unknown is perceived by our brains as something to be feared, and so we timidly stay where it is safe (though not necessarily pleasant). Slowly and gradually, we become the most tiniest versions of ourselves. DON'T let that happen.

Keep growing, keep experiencing life, realize your own potential, get feedback, read inspirational stories and then form a goal. Then work, work and work at it. Take the leap of faith. If at the end it doesn't pan out, it wasn't meant to be. Pick yourself up, brush off the frustration and humiliation and repeat the process.

Even if it's at a snail's pace, forward is the way to go! What you deeply desire is closer than you think.