I spend a lot of time in the car.
Being on the road gives me time to reflect. I usually don't have the opportunity to pen down any of these reflections because I am behind the wheel, but my friend Daniel is steering the ship right now, so I can actually word vomit out a bit of these road trip thoughts.
We have had a killer week.
By killer, I mean awesome.
We set out Saturday, trekking from South Mississippi up to Nashville and then over to Memphis. We have spent time with friends, gotten lost, gone on adventures and figured out a little bit more about this whole life thing and what might be next. Its been awesome.
Daniel and I are both entering a transition phase in life, so I think this week has been great for both of us to gain some perspective and clear our heads.
But really the biggest thing on my mind as we head home today is the web of people we visited over the last week. All I keep thinking is, "How the heck do I even know any of these people?"
It all feels so random. How can people that I met through the most obscure of circumstances be some of the people I consider my closest friends now?
From random shows in Memphis, to spontaneous adventures 6 hours from home, to life chats that spur from a mutual love for 5SOS and All Time Low in a Walmart parking lot - over the last few months, I have been provided with a web of friends who I wouldn't trade for anything.
Its crazy to me how one conversation with a person can change everything you think about him or her. Every time I meet someone, I have a choice before me, to invest or not. It is easy to meet someone and automatically judge whether or not I will have anything in common with that person. There is no courage in thinking that I know what a person is all about without discovering who he or she is for myself.
There is courage in choosing to step out of your comfort zone and invest in someone you know nothing about. There is risk. You could get hurt. They could just try to use you. Talking to them might be awkward. You might not have a lick of things in common. Everything could, might and in some circumstances by all logical reasoning, should go wrong.
Or you might discover something amazing.
You might find some of the most incredible people on earth. You will learn things about yourself. You will learn more about them. You will learn more about the world around you. Every person you meet presents you with an dual opportunity: You can be changed by them and you never know how you might help change them.
Every person I meet has the power to teach me something, if I have my eyes open to see it.
Each of us has the choice to either engage in our surroundings and take these as they come or try to control everything. Had I tried to be in control, I never would have met any of these people. Learning that I don't know everything is something I am working on daily. Living out the principle of having open hands to new plans is something that I wrestle with a lot.
But the people I have been blessed to meet in the last months make this whole not being scared to step out of my comfort zone thing a whole lot easier.
