Forget the rules, live a little

'I think anyone can experience moments like these. It just take a moment to forget about all the rules we set for ourselves and suddenly there we are, having the most amazing experience.'

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That was my response to a comment by @mysecondself01 made on my free write today on SOLITUDE.

Thanks for sharing this amazing memory of the past. It is a once in the lifetime experience and to do it alone (in solitude) takes true guts!! I applaud you!!

I had taken my five minutes to give a brief look into one of my memories where I climbed a mountain in Japan in a storm and ended up camping at the top. If you want to read it, check out this link.

Now, I need to make very clear, this is not about bragging about the things I've done. I write because I want others to experience moments like those for themselves, hopefully be inspired to do the same themselves. Or to just enjoy the story.

Mostly I just write for myself, to finally get my memories out into reality so I can acknowledge them.

Like a lot of my words, they just kind of come out.

I follow the threads in my head and just let my hands type. I'm usually surprised by what comes out and I'm pretty sure a lot of writers feel like that. I think this response was a message from my subconscious.

I've become trapped in a prison of my own making. The walls have gotten higher and thicker as the years have worn on. The stories I tell myself about why this is happening, what I can do, what I can't do, they've piled up. I've created a world in which nothing seems possible anymore. There are so many rules that I just can't keep track anymore.

Yes, it's truly a scary place.
And I know I'm not the only one in the world who's like this.

I've forgotten the core of what makes life fun.

What makes life worth living. Forgetting the rules and just doing. Not telling myself what I can and cannot do. It seems like such a stupid thing. And I can already hear a thousand and one reasons telling me why it's not true. But those are just the rules I have created for myself.

I mean, if a quadriplegic can climb a mountain, a blind and deaf woman can a famous become a writer, and, well, you know there are so many stories of people just doing. It wasn't their limitations that they thought about, it was what they wanted to do. Who they wanted to be. Where they wanted to go.

They took their rulebooks and burned them.

So many people are amazed by the crazy stuff I've done. The pics in this post are just some that I found on old hard drives and happen to be on my desktop. Probably as prep for other, longer, memory posts. I don't think they are so amazing, because I was always in the mind set that anyone could do it. When I talk about the memories, it's to show other people it's possible.

Climb the Great Wall of China...why not?
Check out the Mekong River in Laos...why not?
Camp on an active volcano...why not?
Camp alone on the top of a mountain...why not?

Yes, all that stuff comes with inherent risks...but none of them are as great as you think they are. Any of them can be overcome by an average person, if you just ignore the rules you've made for yourself.

This post isn't about me. It's about you.

What rules have you made for yourself that keep you from doing what you want? Better question...do you even know what you want? Take some time and figure that out. Meditate on it. Write about it. Every time a rule pops up in your head about why it isn't possible, write that down. Make a list of why your brain says you can't. I think pretty soon you'll see a trend. A trend that will take a lot of work to reverse, but it's possible.

Once again, my words have come out in a way that surprises me. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I've never thought to do something like that before. To write out my doubts so that I can see how to overcome them. But, now I'm armed with another tool to help me achieve the life I want. A path to happiness...a path back to happiness. I hope you are now armed as well. With something that will help you break out of the rut you might feel that you're in.

Maybe, hopefully, sometime soon, I'll see a post by you talking about how you never thought you would, but you did :) I mean, seriously, what do you have to lose? Why keep yourself in the corner any longer?

If you have a story about how you finally overcame some of those self-imposed, self-limiting rules, I'd really love to hear them! Stay tuned for me taking my own advice and trying some new things out, hehe.

Submitted to the Easiest Contest Ever for inspirational quotes.