That’s the question – fall or fly?
One of my favorite sayings, usually attributed to Zen but said by John Burroughs, is,
“Leap and the net will appear.”
If you are unfamiliar with this phrase – it basically means that sometimes you need to just leap into the project, the idea, or what-have-you – and know that any freefall will be arrested.
There is, however, another option. Don’t just leap and await the net. Leap and take flight.
No, this is not literal, of course. But there are lots of situations that we come face to face with where we have a choice to make. Go with it, resist it, leap into it – or with all intent, fly.
What does this look like and why I am writing about it today? Allow me to explain further.
Go with it
Life happens. Like it or not, life is in a constant state of flow. Part of this is because change is the only constant in the Universe. But beyond that – no matter our relationship with time, it happens.
The sun rises and sets. The dates change. All the elements that make up our bodies alter with age.
For lots of people, they just go with it. Life happens and they roll with the punches.
Arguably, this takes the least effort. And I imagine that, for some people, this is wholly satisfactory. I, however, am not one of those people.
No, I won’t just accept life as it comes – and would rather make choices and decisions to take it where I desire for it to go.
But you can just let life live you – and go with whatever happens along the way. To be fair – sometimes this is a perfectly good and solid choice.
Resist it
We see this ALL THE TIME. Every white supremacist, racist, misogynist, anti-LGBTQA+ person and organization resists.
Sorry, it is not the other way around at all. There have always been and will always be non-whites, women, and a wide variety of sexual preferences and gender identities. That’s life, period. Resisting it is pointless.
And that is what I mean when I talk and write about resisting life. It’s taking a stand against reality that you might think has a point – but all it does is add layers of complexity that are unnecessary and can become dangerous. Especially when groups come together to resist reality and do things like create ludicrous laws and otherwise hurt/harm people they see as different.
In case I have not made it abundantly clear – I am against resisting of this nature. Standing against reality for the false reality you desire to create – particularly one that will hurt and harm people – is unacceptable.
And frankly – in what way do people different from you actually hurt you or impact your life? For the most part, I’m pretty sure that they don’t.
Leap into it
This is where you take that leap. For good or ill, you make a choice or a decision.
You start or end the relationship. Open or close the business. Begin or end the friendship. Take the known path or the unfamiliar one. You leap into it – and make choices and decisions to direct where and how life goes.
Here’s the catch. Sometimes the net will appear, and you will find anew the comfort you left behind in the leap (comfort as in comfort zone – the known). But there are times the net doesn’t appear – and you will hit the ground.
This is largely metaphoric. You might crash rather than hit a net and get smashed apart. What you think you know it turns out you didn’t. The leap was not a good idea because there was never a net.
Yup, this sucks. And it hurts. However – it’s not the end. Fine, you leaped, the net didn’t appear, and you crashed. Perhaps you’ll need time to heal before you can do anything new – but there will be new opportunities.
Still worth it? Absolutely. We heal because things happen both in and out of our control that can break us. And lessons learned from getting broken can be incredibly invaluable – even when they’re awful at the time.
Take flight
How is this different from leaping into a net?
The way I see it – this comes down to intent.
Leaping into a net that should – but might not – appear leaves room for doubt. It holds onto a vestige of the unknown, the unexpected, and uncertainty.
I am not saying that this won’t be the approach you must take from time to time. But when you have the option to leap and take flight – the intent gives you wings.
That doesn’t mean you won’t still fall in the end. Or that said will might or might not be arrested by a net that appears. But I believe when you go with your whole heart – you open yourself to far more potential and possibility. And further – you’re open to the intended experience maybe being even better than you believed it could be.
Fall or fly
Sometimes people don’t leap. They just fall. The net is likely to appear. But if it doesn’t, they’ll inevitably crash.
Literal and figurative breaks might occur. But when you fall you might have waited too long to leap.
Fall or fly is also what happens when you see that you will reach the precipice and go over – no matter what you do. Then it’s a question of fall or fly? Leap and fly or just fall over the edge. Either way, the net may or may not appear.
I believe that choosing to fly takes intent to the next level. It’s not just kind of going for it, swallowing down concerns and uncertainties and leaping – it’s intentionally, wholeheartedly, unreservedly leaping to fly – or fall.
And all of it comes down to being accountable, making choices and decisions, and taking actions.
Why am I teetering on the brink of fall or fly?
Time to get personal.
When I started to get deeper into nonfiction writing, I debated separating my personae. Should I have 2 separate identities – one writing sci-fi, fantasy, and fiction and one writing mindfulness, conscious reality creation self-encouragement? Or should I just maintain the one?
Initially, I choose to keep it all together. But then I got ambitious and published 9 sci-fi and fantasy books in 2 years. My fiction catalog went from 3 books to 12 in 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile – I’m blogging 5 days+ per week. And there are 5 works related to my non-fiction published book catalog (Vortex Pilgrimage is fiction, but it fits better into this world than my sci-fi and fantasy worlds).
The marketing expert I hired in 2021 suggested that to alleviate potential confusion between my fiction and nonfiction personae – I should have divided them up. The idea had plagued me for a while (and I blogged about it for 2 years).
And so, I did.
Now I have 2 identities on Amazon – MJ Blehart and Murray “MJ” Blehart. The latter is attached to my Medium.com blogs, too.
Maybe it’s too soon to tell – but the division has not helped my book sales in either persona.
However – there is a new opportunity on the horizon – a big, scary, exciting, potentially life-changing opportunity. For which I must choose to fall or fly.
Fall or fly – I prefer to fly
My wings might need some work. But I am going to fly!
The aforementioned new opportunity has a ton of potential to help me do what I am not good at as an entrepreneur and brand.
Ideas? I got lots and lots of ideas. Want me to come up with new ideas or help you with your ideas? Totally onboard.
Organization and monetization? Umm. Lots of uncertainty. And I become increasingly ineffective. This leads to my self-sabotaging behaviors rearing their ugly heads – and I return to that undesired place I keep working to get past.
So – I’ve just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of Cloud Ci…sorry, not that. I’m working with someone new to help me get my brand organized and focused more clearly. We have a new plan we’re putting together to do some new things with my brand to move it where I have always desired for it to go.
In other words – the successful entrepreneur I’ve always believed myself to be.
This is my opportunity to fall off the cliff or leap into the unknown. Fall or fly? I am going to do my best to fly.
I believe in this process, this new venture, and I think I am finally fully prepared to spread my wings.
And if I fall? I know I will recover, even if the net doesn’t appear.
This time, however, I’m flying.
We each get just one shot at this life experience in these meat-popsicle bodies. Sure, you can play it safe, just exist, let life live you, and go with it. Or, you can make choices and decisions, leap into it, and either freefall for the net you can’t see – or spread your wings and fly.
Do you desire to fly as much as I do?
This is the one-hundred and fifty-fifth article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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