Summer, the younger of my two adorable golden retrievers, will be 4 years old next month, and in all that time she has never been in the basement.
Every day she negotiates the 10 steps from the deck to the backyard several times, but anytime I descend into the basement, she settles down at the top of the stairs and waits patiently for me to return.
The lower level of this house is nothing unusual, certainly nothing scary. It would be something new for her to discover, perhaps even an adventure. But no matter how much I coax her to take those downward steps, she resolutely stays up there. It even appears she has a furrowed brow, worried that something in the depths might take me away from her while she waits helplessly.
We are dreamers, we humans. We see the wide variety of adventures to be had in this big old world, and we dream of going for it.
How often are we stuck at the top of the stairs, too anxious to take the first step? The adventure is there for the taking, but we stand by as spectators, waiting for others to come back and tell us what it was like.
I tell Summer she can traverse the stairs safely, just like the stairs to the backyard. I tell her she would like it down there. I tell her I will be with her every step of the way to make sure she gets down there and returns safely.
No matter how much I coax and encourage, she just stays on the edge of the top stair and watches.
Don’t let Summer’s dilemma be a metaphor for your own adventure. Take that first step and be on your way.
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Meanwhile, here is episode 17 — “I’d love to change the world” — of the See the World! Podcast, daily readings from my new book See the World! It’s scheduled for release this coming Tuesday, June 10, and available for pre-order by clicking the book’s title.
