If you were to have an in-depth conversation with the average person about what they might like to aspire towards in their own development as human beings, I would bet some part of their response would include being a bit more brave or courageous. Those exact words may not be used as part of the conversation, but my hunch is those notions would be interwoven in the dialogue. Maybe something more along the lines of “There’s so much more I wish I would do…” with the unstated piece being that they don’t do it out of some reticence or fear.
I alluded to all of this a bit on my post a few weeks back on regret, but I find that most people regret more what they didn’t do or try versus what they did. In the end, I think we all want to be a little more brave, a little more bold and a little more committed doing more cool stuff. I know I am.
All of this began to percolate in my head like some fresh-brewed java when I got this photo from my Dad through my uncle:
See, this handsome (albeit serious-looking) couple is my great-grandparents on my father’s father’s side. I always knew them as Dzia Dzia and Babci, which is Polish for grandfather and grandmother, respectively. We Kuzia’s are a very creative bunch, as you can easily see. Always pushing those boundaries.
The reason I marvel at my Dzia Dzia and Babci so much is for something incredibly simple they did and so many others did in the early 1900’s – they hopped on a boat from Poland, traveled across the Atlantic and landed in the United States with very little in their pockets and no ability to speak English. OK, that’s not entirely true… they had 2 phrases: one for ordering a sandwich and the other of “Which way E-J?” which meant Endicott-Johnson shoe company so they could go and get a job there.
I know these days we sort of take that early surge of immigration to the U.S. for granted as an “Oh, yeah… that happened…” kind of thing with nary a second thought… but damn it, let’s give it that second or even third thought for a moment.
Imagine yourself trying that today – leaving behind the place you grew up, the only life you have ever known and all the people you’ve ever known and traveling to a complete alien part of the world, where the native tongue is one you know nothing of. And THAT is going to be your new life… just for a shot that your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have it better than you did. Not a guarantee. Not a promise. Just for the potential and only through hard manual labor in a shoe factory.
Damn. Suddenly feeling nervous about doing Tough Mudder looks utterly silly by comparison.
In the end, I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, my friends, and they are pictured above. Without their brave act, these words are never typed for you to read and the amazing experiences I’ve been fortunate enough to have never occur. It’s humbling in the best possible way.