A friend once told me “A comfortable life is not a life worth living.”
At that moment, I knew exactly what she meant. While my life was pretty easy-going, I was in a rut. There was no challenge to anything I was doing. I felt like I was just existing. I hated it.
So several years ago I packed up and moved out to Colorado. I had a pretty steady freelance career back in Atlanta, but I was bored out of my mind in my personal life and something had to give. Why Colorado? The cooler, drier weather, the down-to-earth attitude of its residents, the temptation of adventure, and the enormous mountain range that perches like nature’s cathedrals on the horizon. (They still take my breath away.) Everything about this place was exactly what I needed.
Even today, I’m still taken aback when people tell me “You were so brave to do that.” I wasn’t being brave. I was propelled by my restlessness and a need to get away from the predictable. I think, as creatives, we need to constantly challenge ourselves and strive for something better. Otherwise, that muscle between our ears atrophies.
So far, moving my life out here has been good for me. For my creativity. For my soul. I have found plenty of opportunities to get outside my comfort zone and I’m never bored. Has everything been perfect? No, but I didn’t come out here so life would be easier. I came out here to see what I was made of.
I’ve known too many people who lived their lives in fear, and I don’t ever want to be that kind of person. Fear is a self-imposed feeling and we each have control over that. Even when we stumble, we always find the fortitude to pick ourselves up and keep going. It’s the scars from those stumbles that make us interesting. And give us great stories to tell.
I’m so glad to be out here in Colorado. Thanks for looking at my site.