When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name;—— the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Prompt: Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Write about that moment. (Author: Bridget Pilloud)

My Edge Moment

That “wholly strange and new” moment occurred when I started my new business. I called it my edge moment. Filled with feelings of pleasure and pain, fear and fun, exhilaration and exasperation, hope and hesitancy and more, I started a business. That moment was like stepping on the edge of a mountain, peering down before jumping, and thinking how wonderful floating would feel and how hard the landing would be. When I started out, I knew I wanted to do more than stand on the edge and look down, I wanted to jump. I wanted to go beyond the edge and build a business that would be different, new and good.

As I launched the business, feelings of bliss and burdens of doubt continued to compete for my attention. The more my inner voice discouraged me, the more my outer courage prevailed. There was no way of knowing all the unknowns. So I jumped. After jumping, something strange happened. I became so mission driven that I let go and let trust in myself thrust my business along. I was moving—three steps forward, two back then five steps forward and only one back. I got into the rhythm of moving further away from the edge. I was building something new. I was feeling good. I was living.

My business is growing now. I have less edge moments. I’ve grown more familiar with the unfamiliar. Maybe it’s time to experience that “wholly strange and new” moment again. Maybe it’s time to carve a new path to continue fully living.