Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is.

-H. Jackson Browne.

Of course, when you go out on a limb, there's also the possibility that your own weight will cause you to fall out of the damn tree.

Tonight, I went out on a limb. I didn't do it as gracefully or smoothly as I might have liked, but I did. At this point, I'm still kind of hanging on the branch of the tree with one hand, but I haven't fallen out yet.

Regardless, I'm glad I did. Conventional wisdom and experience has always thoroughly convinced me that the best way to stay safe is to keep to yourself. Stay close to the trunk of the tree. Hold on for dear life, and you won't fall. And its true. You won't fall. Not even a little bit. You get to keep your pride and your bones intact.

What they don't tell you is that's all you really get.

I made a promise to myself a while ago to start being more honest with myself, my feelings, and my actions. Its a bigger risk, it hurts a lot more, but damnit if I'm going to be one of those people who sits around their whole life wondering 'what if?' When it comes to anything - love, career, friends, family, art - whatever. If something moves me, god dammit, I will let it move me, and I will not stand there and be this stoic and impenetrable force.

I have only one abiding rule for my life, as its stands this moment.

Don't follow the rules. Follow your heart.

-JC