dearheart mail | no. 5: what if?

It seems the lesson I’m being asked to get deep in my bones is how fleeting our time on earth is. The loss my family experienced this week reminded me once again that we simply don’t have time to be afraid—of failure, rejection or what others think of us. We must embrace all of who we are and pursue our dreams with purpose.

Seven years ago today I packed up my car and left Los Angeles. It broke my heart to leave the people and places I’d come to call home, but I knew it was time for a new adventure in Nashville. Before I went, I wrote myself a kind of a pep talk in my journal—a reminder of the fruit of saying yes to the unknown. I hope it will spark encouragement and hope in your heart, and awaken you to possibilities .

What If?

What if you didn't go?

What if you didn't meet those people who opened you up, saw you for who you really are and let you find your way and shine like you were meant to?

What if you just stayed scared and let fear win?

What if the only dreams you lived were of the daydream variety in your head?

I want you to remember that the next time you set off to a new land—to conquer new giants, to dream new dreams.

The land of the unknown doesn't always mean death and dread.

Sometimes the land of the unknown leads to crazy, amazing, living-your-dreams-out-loud times…

Times of such joy, wonder and love, filled with people you couldn't ever dream up on your own.

And you're amazed they found their way into your life and you into theirs.

You realize this is real love, real friendship and that means both parties are equally as blessed to have found the other.

These times, these people—are sacred, because they don't come along everyday and they will change your life and forever change you.

They will leave your heart swelling and overflowing with confetti and fireworks and you will hold it and marvel at how the deep, dark, barren forest your heart once was has transformed into this pile of glittery paper you now hold in your hand.

The excavation is a process and the transition can be awkward and hard and really, really vulnerable, but then one day: confetti. balloons. hearts soaring. birds singing. you are alive and living and breathing the life you always dreamed of.

And pop! just like magic there it is waiting for you to enjoy, to partake and savor the sweet, sweet life you've been gifted.

So, don't be afraid. when you're setting off for something new...be it big or small.

Remember the places, the faces, the smells, the music, the tears and the joy the last unknown place brought you, and how you couldn't possibly imagine life without those people, those places, those smells, that music, those tears.

And begin your journey again, into the great unknown with a full and expectant heart, awaiting surprises at every bend.