Most people are on the world, not in it

John Muir said it well..."Most people are on the world, not in it-have no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them--undiffused, separate, and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate."

I once read that fear was recognizing that there is something worth losing. But as John Muir said above, it's as if many people avoid the direct connection, the complete immersion into the world, into life. It's easier to live on the periphery, to avoid pain and loss, to avoid conflict, than to dive in head first, to embrace what lies ahead, good or bad, and allow yourself to take it all in.

I'm a classic jump-ship kind of person. When the going gets tough, I get going. But sometimes things change. Sometimes people change. Sometimes there is enough fear there, enough of something worth losing that a person steps off the world and into it. But not everyone is willing to take that risk, to take that leap of faith and let life happen to them. We can't control anything but how we approach life...from the sidelines or in the thick of the game leaving fear of pain and loss aside and enjoying what's right in front of us for as long as we are graced with it's presence.