Risk Taking

This morning as Abbie and I were walking, she took considerable interest in the thin layers of ice over the melted snow in the ditches.  During our afternoon walks, the ice melts forming moats.  These moats provide a challenge for her to jump across.  Overnight, the water freezes, supplying morning adventures.  This morning, she started at the ice's edge to determine just how far she could venture onto the moat.  The process involves stepping into the ice just until she hears cracking, then she backs up.  Then she starts taking bigger risks, stepping farther into the middle of the ice until she hears cracking.  Once, as she stood in the middle of the frozen pond, she turned to smile and show me how smart she was.  She explored each moat this way until she saw something interesting in the middle of one frozen pool.  She stepped onto the edge, then gingerly stepped toward the middle and the object of her curiosity.  The cracking began and she stepped back one step.  Then she leaned toward the object, stretching her nose closer, yet keeping her feet on solid ice.  Just then, her front feet went through the ice and she was up to her chin and chest in freezing water.  Her back legs remained on frozen ice, so she scrambled back to dry ground. 

Her curiosity for the object overcame her need to stay dry, so she attempted once again to walk on the ice far enough to gain access to the object.  Once again, she broke through the ice.  At that point, she decided the object was not worth the effort so she took off on a new adventure.

Abbie's desire for the unreachable object only went as far as she was willing to go into the freezing, undesirable water.  As it is with risk taking.  As we look toward goals we want, objects of our desire, how far into the uncomfortable zones are we willing to go?

Today, I am taking a bigger risk and the water is not that cold.