From Country Dancin' to Hockey Games.

Having some goals and tangible activities in the forefront of my mind keep me grounded in the train of thought there is more to life than going to work and coming home and then doing it all again the next day.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to work hard and to bring your absolute best everyday to the job, even when exhaustion and frustration hits.  I believe my generation needs to know what it looks like to do whatever it takes in order to survive, myself included.

But it is also just as important to remember we are not robots.  We are not beings that were made to slave the day away.  Hence, country dancing and hockey games.

I had some amazing friends come visit from California and I wanted them to experience Texas.  And I mean truly experience Texas.  So, one Saturday night we decided to go country dancing.  In a the middle of nowhere Texas.  And boy did we dance.

And we loved it.

It was something that I have never done before and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.  If you know me, I usually always turn down any sort of dancing.  One, because I don't know how and two, I feel silly doing it.  But I think we all need to push ourselves outside of our norm and just go for it.  It is exhilarating and embarrassing and fantastically fun.

There just isn't anything like getting together in a group of people where everyone is gathered for a common goal.  Dancing.  Twirling.  Laughing.  Yelling.  Cheering.

It is wonderful.

Going to a hockey game with my younger sister was really an experience all in itself.  It is fast paced and always unpredictable.  When a player scores, everyone just stands and cheers and you can't help but join.  You get excited when they do.  You get mad when they do.  It is what is exciting about hockey and any other sport really.

Camaraderie is made both on the field and off.  As I sat there for just a moment, even just for a few minutes, everyone was on the same team.  No one was there judging one another.  No one was there telling the other person they are not good enough for this reason or that.  No one is there for any other reason than to be one big team.

I wish life was more like that.  One big team.  But we sit and we compare ourselves with one another and the hierarchy system is then put into place.  And yet we are all striving for acceptance and community.  There is rarely a sense of true community.

I am thankful that I am purposely putting myself in places where I normally don't tread.  It is constantly teaching me new things and I am reminded there is too much beauty in the world being taken for granted.

I ask that you go out of your comfort zone and try new things.  Tread into those adventures you always dreamed of going into.

Who knows.  You just might surprise yourself.