I used to think that you had to know everything about something before you undertook it. That you had to know where you were going to end up before you started down any path. That lack of direction meant that you had no direction at all. That indecision was a decision in and of itself and that in it you were only choosing incorrectly. That everything was black and white and there was no in between.

I was wrong.

I have learned that it is better to be tossed about by the wind and the waves than to simply float along, that it is better to allow yourself to experience something unfamiliar than to sit back and let it wash over you as if it never happened.

Because life is meant for experiencing. To fully experience something is to allow that experience to take a part of you away and shape it into something new before giving it back. When we consciously make this choice, the choice to allow something new and unfamiliar into our lives, to not be afraid, then our lives are truly shaped. We become more than we used to be. We exist. Through every facet of our journey we become who we are, moulded by each moment and each memory. Without this we are nothing. Choosing the comfort of safety and familiarity makes our lives mundane; we don’t allow ourselves to grow, we stifle ourselves.

Life can be what you make of it, but it is also what you allow it to make of you.