A Beautiful Destination May Require Some Recklessness

How would life be different if we allowed ourselves a dose of reckless living? Totally going for it without hesitation.

 

Recently my husband and I celebrated our 20 year anniversary on the coast of Italy.  What an incredible place!  The Amalfi Coast is a taste of heaven.  The coastline is covered with mountainous cliffs and Aqua Blue Ocean at its feet.

Our arrival was a reckless adventure to say the least.  My respect for Italian drivers just shot up a notch!

 

A one lane highway shared by passengers going to and from.  Curvy roads winding around open cliffs.  The view stunning, but oh how my stomach was churning.

 

It was amazing to witness gigantic tour buses dominating the road, yet smaller cars inched their way by.  No hesitation!  It was like a bunch of kids in the playground all getting along.  Each driver respected the other.  The big did not overrun the small.  Each drove aggressively, but confidently to ensure the opposing car could pass without difficulty

Reckless! A normal life for Italian drivers.  For me, not so much normal, in fact scary!

 

As I reflected on the Italian way of life, I thought to myself wouldn’t it be nice to approach life with a hint of recklessness.  Not being afraid to navigate the curves, not hesitating when the situation looks a little hairy, going for it even when self-doubt lingers in my mind.

 

Playing it safe is not always the best solution. Often times it prevents us from experiencing a beautiful destination, a place of enjoyment, fulfillment and purpose.

 

I buckled up and held on tight as our driver made his way to our final destination, a beautiful hotel nestled on the rocky cliffs with a view one can only imagine.   A place of paradise, but at the expense of enduring reckless travel.

 

Peter, one of Jesus’s disciples, demonstrated a reckless heart.  He saw Jesus walking on the water and when Jesus told him to come meet him, without any hesitation Peter immediately jumped.

 

No tip toe into the water. A big RECKLESS jump!

 

“Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.”  Mathew 15:29  (NIV)

 

Unfortunately though, fear and doubt overcame his reckless spirit and Jesus had to rescue him.

 

I am enamored by the human side of Peter.  After he realized what he just did, he got scared.  He struggled just like you and I. But Jesus helped him in his attempt to be reckless and did not condemn, but helped him to have greater faith next time.

 

If you have a destination in mind, how can you demonstrate a dose of recklessness?  For some it’s forgetting our past and moving into our future bravely.  For others it’s taking initiative in our marriage to rekindle the love and passion that drew us together, even if we are timid to make the first move.   Or for some it’s going online to register for college and pursue that degree you never finished.  It’s never too late!

 

Exercising caution is good, but perhaps it’s time to throw caution to the wind and insert a degree of recklessness instead.

 

We can all learn something from the Italians.  Exhibiting a bit more recklessness on our road to life may find us in a place of living a dream with more purpose and passion.