STEP UP TO THE PLATE

     When I am attempting something unfamiliar and hoping for a specific positive outcome, it's hard to begin. I have a fear that I might make a mistake and do something that will blow my chances at success forever and ever. If I don't try, there is always the chance that I might slip through and actually get what I hope to get... when I do try. But if I make the effort and don't get the desired result, it feels like the death of my dream.
     Even as I write this, I realize that a beginning is just that- a beginning. It's not meant to be a home run or to strike me out of the game for all time. It's just a chance at the bat. Maybe I get a base hit, or a foul ball. Maybe I walk. At least the possibility exists for home runs... and strike outs too. Therein lies the challenge and the "game." If it doesn't happen this time, then maybe the next. I get another turn, and another, as long as I play.
     But I'm not even in the game if I don't step up to the plate. I won't strike out, but I won't feel what it's like to hit the ball either. And it's satisfying to make contact with it, to feel the crack and watch the ball go down the line, or straight out to left field, or wherever it goes; far more satisfying than sitting in the stands watching the dugout with envy and being too afraid to play at all.

I take my chances and give life my best shot. Even if I miss, or strike out, it's worth swinging at the ball. I could get a base hit, and move forward in the game.