Drowning...

You are in danger of drowning, even as you read this on dry land. Sad, but true. It's a regular occurrence that people get in over their heads in ways that are easily avoided. Better to learn how not to drown. Or at least the best way to do it.

We, as people, spend a lot of time trying to understand things that we don't really need to understand. I'm all for learning and growing - that goes without saying. I'm just proposing that sometimes, we aren't meant to understand how people come to the conclusions they do and why they act the way they act. You can spend a lot of time trying to figure out someone else's mind. Or you can spend a lot of time worrying about yourself. That's not selfish, that's self preservation. Make sure your own pool is maintained, first. If you keep trying to clean someone else's pool, you might just drown there - it's unfamiliar territory.

Sometimes you stick your toe in water you know it doesn't belong in. Everyone has to live their own life, whether you like it or not. You don’t have to agree and you don't have to sign off on it. I know a lot of people who feel like it's their duty to dispense an opinion whenever they feel like it, on topics big and small. Maybe you should wait until someone asks you what you think. Because maybe they won't. Be especially careful when it's something that's so small you just know they won't mind you giving a bit of advice. Unless you're specifically consulted, you 're better off keeping your grand wisdom to yourself. Under the right circumstances, you can drown in as little as one inch of water.

Diving in shallow water is another hazard. You need to make sure you know what you're getting into before you go jumping into a something new. Myself, I try to think about all the angles. Trust me, if I'm entering a situation, I've considered all the possible lives and people that are affected. I've tried to put myself in their shoes and see it their way. Sometimes what I want for me isn't best for other people and I have to weigh the options. There have been times I've walked away from things and people I would have loved to be involved in because it would have hurt another person. Had I dived in without understanding the depth of the situation, I would have hit my head on the bottom sooner than later, and eventually drowned. Sometimes looks can be deceiving.

You can drown staying still just like you can drown trying to swim. I know this, because I've tried it both ways. I prefer, these days, to drown trying to swim. At least then, I know I gave it my all. I swim without floaties, because I'm a big girl now. What I decide is my own decision and I'm prepared to live with it. But I am not prepared to drown because I was afraid to move. If I'm going down, I'm going to be tired because I've exhausted all the possibilities.

(I'm not really finished with this…it's just some thoughts I had.)
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