Life in a Bubble

I love bubbles. Blowing bubbles, popping bubbles, and staying inside my bubble. I like hanging out with the same friends, eating the same foods, watching the same movies, and doing the same things I’ve always done, but that isn’t who I want to be. I’d rather be an adventurer, a risk-taker, an innovator and an entrepreneur (Can you tell I’m a millennial?). There’s something so enticing about idea of doing impossible things, and being fearless, but I’m not. I am a person who has to have a carefully laid out plan before I make any change in my life (whether or not I follow the plan, I want to have one). I struggle, not to look before I leap, but to leap at all. And it’s not always helpful.

This attitude means I struggle to start new relationships, or end relationships that aren’t healthy. It means I struggle to try for potentially perfect opportunities, and that I too easily give up when I hear “no.” The fact is, though, the actual change is never as scary as I imagine. Once committed, I focus on my next step. Where am I going to get food, shelter, money? Who am I going to talk to and what will I say? How will I prepare for this interview? It’s never that hard, I just need that push from someone who believes in me. Someone who is willing to tell me when I’m being a scaredy-cat and tell me to woman up.

Would it be such a bad thing to live in a bubble?

Have you ever been into one of those aquariums where you can step into a tunnel or a cave and the sharks, mantas, or fish swim around you? It’s exhilarating to breathe underwater. It’s how I feel in an airplane at 30,000 feet, like I’m entering another world. This is probably why people go to space, too, but I don’t think that’s in the cards for me. You’re inside something that could be deadly, but protected from it, in a place where you are shielded by the air around you.

I think that this is what your bubble is meant for. Your bubble is those relationships you can count on, the people who will cheer you on. The routines that give you a sense of security and stability when life gets chaotic. It’s not there to keep you from moving into those dangerous spaces. It’s there to keep you safe inside them.