Chances

I was listening to the radio this morning and I heard a song by Michael Tolcher called Sooner or Later. There is a line in the song that struck me.

“And playing in the rain is worth catching cold”

I think more of us need to adopt this attitude. It is an elegant way to say that taking chances and having fun are worth the outcome. At least that is what it means to me. The whole song is about people maturing and understanding the world around them.

As I listened to this song, I was thinking about the people in my family. I hope that they too would someday take some chances and understand their world better. I hope my sister follows through and opens her own business next year. Whether it fails or succeeds, the experience will be worth it. I hope my parents will retire to another part of the country. Sixty years in NCal is enough. Go enjoy your retirement…see some of the rest of the country. I hope that my brother will one day find a career he loves as much as he does his family. You know what you want to do, find a way to make it happen. And as for my little sister, I hope that one day she has the courage to work for the life that she wants and stop settling for what comes to her. Nothing worth while in life is ever accomplished without hard work.

I am not trying to be hard on my family. I know that they all have very difficult lives. But I am also confident that if they decide to change them, they will. Despite what they might think, I don’t think I am smarter or better than they are. I just took a chance and joined the Navy at a young age. It turned out to be a good decision. I got out in the world and expanded my horizons. I got an education that has helped me throughout my life. All of that happened because I took a chance. It’s your turn.