Florida Magic - July 24, 2010

When I was traveling in Turkey, I frequently found myself thinking, "This is great. How did I get here?" That thought was often followed by another thought, "What a tragedy it would have been if I had said 'no' to my impulse to set up my blog because then the chain of events that took me to Turkey would never have happened."

Life presents us with countless opportunities to meet new people and to try new experiences, but sometimes we sidestep the opportunities because we're lazy, we don't want to be inconvenienced, or we are scared.

I speak from experience. I look back at my life and wonder what adventures and opportunities for growth that I missed out on because I said "no."

During my trip to Florida, I've also found myself thinking, "How did I get here?"

Over the past four days, I've seen a side of Florida, through Couch Surfing, that I've never seen before. I've eaten at off-the-beaten-path restaurants that I would never have found on my own. I've had a chance to interact with residents and get a local perspective on life in Florida, aside from just the perspective of tourists. I've had a chance to get beyond only beaches and seafood, although there's a lot to be said for both.

Just last week, a friend and I were talking about Mali. On Wednesday, my host, Trevor, got a Couch Surfing message from a woman visiting her brother in Destin. It turns out that she just returned from a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in Mali.

Her brother is involved with the show Le Grand Cirque, which is similar to Cirque du Soleil. Last night, he gave us tickets to the show, and so I found myself on the third row again asking myself, "How did I get here?"

I didn't expect much out of the show ahead of time, but it was one of the best productions I've ever seen. The troup of Chinese acrobats twisted, tumbled and balanced in ways that I thought were impossible. If you ever have a chance to see the show, do it.

I'm staying one more night in Destin, and tomorrow, I think I'm headed to Panama City for a day or two, where I hope to stay with another Couch Surfer.

What will happen there? I have no idea, but I know it will be good. If I've learned one thing this summer, it is that we need to raise our expectations in life and quit settling for the minimum and mediocrity.

I'll close with a quote from A.A. Milne, who wrote Winnie-the-Pooh. "Time is swift, it races by; Opportunities are born and die...Still you wait and will not try - A bird with wings who dares not rise and fly."


WEATHER UPDATE: I'm sure you've heard about the storm in the Gulf of Mexico. It isn't expected to come anywhere near Destin, but if conditions change, I'll leave.