There is a song I know that reminds me to be engaged in life…to pay attention to moments…to push myself when I might want to give up. 

I heard it this morning and it brought me back to a few years ago when it was first shared with me.

When its message was something bigger than a song.

When I could relate to what I hadn’t done in my life.

Why I wanted so desperately for something different.

How it all began with a simple dare.

But it didn’t really begin there…it is just when I noticed it.

Our daring to better ourselves begins with our first breath. Yes, the one we took years ago. When the world welcomed us into it and the daring started.

We might not have realized it at the time, but we have always been dared. It was there all along.

Looking back, we found it in simple things…like when our parents encouraged us to walk for the first time…when we went to school for the first time…every time we played hide-n-seek during recess…when we drove our first car…when we asked someone out on a date…when we applied for a job or tried out for a team…when we said, “I do” in front of family and friends…

Daring ourselves to live isn’t anything new.

There are just different levels to it and it can be disguised in many different ways.

When we are young, playing a game of “Marco Polo” isn’t as daring as skydiving, such as, but the sensation is still the same. We can’t really play the game if we never move. That’s no fun.

The adrenaline rush we feel when we are taking chances isn’t something we can ignore. It pulsates through our body and our senses are heightened and we come to the point of no return…

We must choose.

We must commit.

We must be willing to announce our desire and do what is necessary to get it.

Even if we are afraid, we must be brave enough to move past the point where fear has its strongest hold.

The point when most of us turn back.

The point when we run away as fast as we can, knowing that the quicker we distance ourselves, the better we will feel as our senses begin to return to normal.

But what happens if we don’t choose the safe road?

What happens if we begin to actually thrive on the excitement only found when we test ourselves?

Something interesting begins to change within us…

That surge of energy is something we crave and feed on and we seek moments when that hunger can be fed.

Different things will motivate us to live either on the safe side or the more dangerous side and I for one, have chosen to live a little more dangerously than most.

Especially in the last few years.

Some people have asked me if I “had a death wish” and the truth is more easier to explain — I simply have a “life quest.” A yearning to live on the edge, to try new things (even if I suck at them), and to live freely without any barriers.

Don’t get me wrong. I still feel the fear as I near something that makes me a little afraid or a little intimidated. But I refuse to cave to that feeling anymore. Instead, I push myself to get to the other side of that fear…when it doesn’t have any power over me anymore.

Where that fear has been replaced by confidence and strength.

And, in turn, it fuels even more anticipation and thrill that cannot be found without the risk associated with it.

Life has dealt you challenges ever since you were born. Some you have chosen to avoid and some you should have dealt with head on.

Even when everything in life seems to be going pretty smoothly, I dare you to challenge yourself in ways you probably never will:

I dare you to be completely honest with yourself.

I dare you to find out who you really are.

I dare you to allow yourself to fail.

I dare you to listen to your heart.

I dare you to say what you feel (when you feel it).

I dare you to do something spontaneous.

I dare you to LIVE.

Michelle A. Homme 2016 ©