Standing on the Edge

The exhilarating, yet absolutely terrifying, moment of standing on the edge. Have you felt it?

  • When you’ve been on the tip of something extraordinary, looking out.
  • When you’ve been on the verge of a new discovery, a new revelation.
  • When you’ve been on the peripherals of the everyday, looking back on normality and forward to a new reality.

STAGES OF STANDING ON THE EDGE:

  1. A shift in horizon
  2. The shaky legs and tilting ship syndrome
  3. A surfacing perspective
  4. The dive, slip, sink, or swim scenario

BW-STANDING-ON-EDGE-BEACH

Let’s have a deeper look at these points, and how we go through this process.

1.  A SHIFT IN HORIZON

Sometimes, life throws curveballs and change our way. We have new situations and scenery before us. This shift sets the stage for a future foundation, yet we’re not firm on that future yet.  There is a ‘jump’ or ‘leap’ required to get from current to new. This point is disorienting, because as your previous horizon shifts – you must too.

2. THE SHAKY LEGS AND TILTING SHIP SYNDROME

With this revelation, where you find yourself standing on the edge, watching the shifting horizon, coming to terms with the reality that you too need to shift – that is when you usually experience the following syndrome-symptoms:

FEAR, ANXIETY, STRESS, WORRY //

When the all-too-familiar shaky legs set in. The unknown is scary, so don’t see this as a sign of weakness.

UNCERTAINTY, DOUBT, CONFUSION //

This is when your ship (metaphorical “ship”, e.g. the contents and condition of your life) begins to tip and tilt. You toss back and forth at the force of the oncoming storm. You’re not sure how to navigate this new season. You don’t know how to settle on the ‘new’. You need a new place to stand, on future foundations

You’re on edge. Unsettled. You’re also on THE edge. Understanding your own limits. Uncovering the new surface below and beyond your current situation. 

3. A SURFACING PERSPECTIVE

Some may skip that freak-out symptom syndrome if they’ve found themselves with a shifting horizon before. Over time, it becomes easier to get to the next point in the process, the place where things begin to clear.

As you lose sight of the ‘now’, and look to the ‘new’, the horizon starts to sparkle with possibilities. You no longer see the edge. You see all surfaces. You gain new perspective. 

STANDING-ON-THE-EDGE-BEACH-ROCKS

4. THE DIVE, SLIP, SINK OR SWIM SCENARIO

Standing on the edge is like that phrase we have of ‘sitting on the fence’. When there are two sides to something – whether that be an argument or debate, a decision or situation –  there are pros and cons, yes’ and no’s. Yet there is also a middle ground – a ‘maybe’, an in-between place where you can see both sides.

When you’re standing on the edge, you can see all sides, before and behind, above and below. You see the options. The opportunity. The obstacles. You see the horizon – both a danger and a dream. As your perspective moves, your horizon shifts, you need to think through the next step.

Cue the questioning…

  • Do you choose to fall off the edge? To jump into a decision. When do you know? HOW do you know?
  • What edge is the right edge? What jump is the right jump?
  • Where is the best place to stand? How do you find the future foundation?
  • How do you know how to dive, slip, sink, or swim into the new surfaces you see? 

Today, you might be standing on the edge. You may be at a particular point in the above process. You may have a sense of change. You may be about to cross into a new place. You may just be hanging – static yet airborne, falling yet flying. You may feel that you are working towards something, yet also waiting for something to happen.

We are all on the edge of change. Whether we see the shifting horizons around us or not, there is always subtle shifts occurring, small steps taken. The converging climate of choices and circumstances. Daily, we crossover into new land and lessons. The question is, will we choose to stand on the edge of fear or faith? Will we be shaken or shaped by our shifting horizons?

Praying you all may see the season of life you are in, the place that you stand, as an edge that holds eternity in mind. May you stand on the edge and not be overcome with the fear of falling. May you stand on the edge and be willing to take a leap of faith.

Blessings, xx

Respond from the Heart