Analogy

Put yourself in the following scenario:
(Nota bene:  this is not a memoir.  It's absolutely based in reality, but it never actually happened to me.)

I'm 4 years old.  I'm playing in the grass with some toys.  I'm having a pretty good time.

Everyone else is in the pool.  I don't want to get in the pool.  I don't know how to swim.  I'm perfectly happy where I am.

But then Dad comes over.  "Why don't you come in the pool with us?  Don't you want to have fun like everyone else?"

I think to myself:  Seriously Dad, there's no way that gasping and panting for air as I try to tread water would be more fun than this Tonka dump truck I'm safely enjoying here on terra firma.  "No!"

"Are you SURE???  We're having a lot of fun in the pool without you."

I just stare at the grass:  Not a chance.  Why don't you go back to the pool and get water stuck in your ears.  I'm staying right here.

So he leaves me alone...

My parents' pool in Mobile

But then, tomorrow comes, and the same routine ensues:

"Don't you want to come and have fun with us???"

Luckily, I'm old enough to be able to express myself perfectly by rolling my eyes.  This guy just won't quit.

And he doesn't quit.  Next thing I know, he has picked me up and put me right on the edge of the pool.  He jumps in and puts his hands out waiting.

Are you kidding me Dad?  You think I'm going to jump in?  I was perfectly content kicking a ball around in the grass, and you ruined that.

So, we stare at one another.  Or rather, he stares at me while I look back and forth between the blue water and the green grass.  (Maybe I'd feel differently if I would keep my eyes on him.)  Every now and then he tries to encourage me to jump with some words or vague promises of a popsicle or whatever, but mainly it's a standstill in this battle of wills.  There I am perched upon the edge of something.  There's a decision before me.  Do I just run away back to the grass, or do I cave in to my dad's desire for me and take the plunge?  Everybody else is in the pool, and they're all so good at swimming.  They're diving in, swimming underwater, splashing, and wrestling--that's all fine and good for them, but if I were to try, let's be honest, I would drown right away...

Little do I know that with a little effort, and a little trust, I too could be having so much more fun in the pool than I ever had running around in the grass.  Little do I know that Dad will not let a thing happen to me that I can't handle.  Sure there will be some gasping, but that's the price to pay to enter this new world of adventure and fun.  Little do I know that as soon as I get in and begin to trust it will totally change my entire life.  I will value things differently.  I won't care as much about the Tonka truck, nor the ball, nor the grass.  I will want to spend every waking moment swimming in the pool.  It really will be just as good as Dad says, if not better.

But I can't know those things yet.  I haven't even gotten my feet wet.  So I look around at the people in the pool and see a bunch of crazy people who possess something I think I don't want, something I think is the opposite of what will fulfill me.

So, here I come back to the decision.  I can either run away or jump in.  I can stay comfortable or I can cast myself out into the deep.  I can remain in my own limited space, or branch out and fundamentally alter how I live my life.  What's it going to be?

Photo non apropos:

Stalking prey in Barcelona