I’m Just Curious: Take a leap! Parachute not necessary

 by Debbie Walker

Take a leap, take a chance, take a risk, crawl out of the box, and try something different. You just never know where ideas are going to come from. Some of the neatest things can come from talking to a stranger for just a few minutes in a store. That’s what happened to me one day.

I went to a national chain store; I had an hour to wait for a prescription. I very seldom just roam around the store but today I did. There were two men in the silk flower aisle and yup, I am one of those people if what is going on is interesting, I have to ask. I am glad I did.

These two men were picking out silk flowers that would be used in a class they teach on flower arranging. This particular class is going to be on bridal and wedding arrangements. We wound up exchanging information because I think one day I will have to take one of their classes but it won’t be on bridal arrangements!

When I came home I told my daughter-in-law, Laurie, about these guys. I know she likes dried flowers and arrangements and when I told her about these guys she told me she had always wanted to take a class in flower arranging and in cake decorating.  Gees, take a leap! Go take one, what are you waiting for?

No one is promised tomorrow. We have to do these things now. I think it would be a shame to get to heaven and say, “If I had only taken that flower arranging class I could help decorate around here!” Okay, so my tastes are a little different but when I get there I’ll be able to offer to teach motorcycle!

My mom, who became a widow years ago, was riding by the bowling alley one day, turned around and took herself inside. She figured it would be good exercise for her arms. There was another lady there and mom asked her if she could give her a few pointers. Mom made a friend and found a new hobby and exercise.

There really are more resources out there of things for us to do if we would just open up our eyes and minds. Even if you are not a “group” person there are still plenty of activities to learn for your private enjoyment, ex: flower arranging class.

You don’t have to justify your interests, if something strikes your fancy, check into it. (My friends don’t ride motorcycles!)  If you always wanted to learn a foreign language, go take a class. Don’t be worried about how much you don’t know, that’s what the class is for.

If you are a group person and you have a number of friends, I will be willing to bet that each person probably has some talent or skill they could share. My mom knits and has started a lot of people out, even my friends in Florida. The problem is most people don’t acknowledge their own talents. Each new person you meet will bring something to you to learn.

Keep reading the paper and see what kind of continuing education classes are available that you might be interested in. What about the library? Take an even bigger leap and offer a class yourself. Again you’ll meet new people with new ideas.

Keeping our minds busy and active is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Keep away that nasty Alzheimer’s disease and depression. The thing is take the leap, take the risk, take a chance, crawl out of your box; you won’t even need a parachute (unless you take up parachuting; now there’s an idea!)

I’m just curious what kind of neat ideas you can come up with. Let me know.

Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com  sub line: Leap. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!