Life Beyond the Shore
What happens when we stop watching and start participating
#52
Summer at the Oregon coast has a way of reminding me that life is always changing. One day brings blue skies and fireworks across the lake (thank you, lovely Fourth of July!). The next, it's cool, gray, and raining. Around here, the weather can change by the hour, and I've learned to simply move with it.
This is my fourth summer here, and one of the biggest changes has been stepping onto the water instead of simply watching it.
Tim bought a boat last month, and what began as something fun has become something unexpectedly meaningful. For years, I'd sit on the dock watching families ski, tube, wakeboard, and simply enjoy being together on the lake. I loved witnessing it, but this summer I'm finally participating in it.
I'm even learning to drive the boat so I can pull Tim while he wakeboards. As I’m learning, my stomach drops with nerves. There's something about taking responsibility for someone else's experience that raises the stakes. But each time I climb behind the wheel, I become a little more comfortable, a little more capable, and a little more confident.
It reminded me how easy it is to settle into what's familiar. Sometimes we convince ourselves we're content watching from the shore. Other times we don't even realize we've stopped saying yes to new experiences because they require us to be beginners again. And yet every time I step into something new, I feel a little more alive.
Growth rarely feels comfortable in the beginning, but it has a way of reminding us that we are far more capable than we often give ourselves credit for.
That same feeling has followed me into the books I've been reading lately. I've found myself drawn to historical fiction centered around remarkable women—stories of courage, resilience, and friendship. What I've enjoyed just as much is noticing how many of these authors champion one another. Their book covers are filled with endorsements from other women writers, each using her platform to help another rise.
There was something beautiful about witnessing that. It reminded me that our stories are changing, and there is enough room for all of us. When one woman shines her light, it doesn't diminish anyone else's. It simply creates a little more Light in the world. And I love being a participant in that in any way I can.
This week I also had the privilege of coaching a beautiful woman who simply needed space to reconnect with what she already knew deep inside and to allow herself to step into the version of herself that is ready to be seen and known. As I sat in that conversation, I was reminded how much I love this work. After more than ten years of coaching women through life's transitions, I still find myself energized watching someone reconnect with their own wisdom. There is something incredibly sacred about watching clarity replace confusion and possibility emerge where someone once felt stuck.
We aren't meant to stay stuck. Life keeps moving, and we're invited to move with it.
Looking back over the week, I realized none of these moments had much in common on the surface. A boat, a novel, a coaching conversation. And yet each one asked the same thing of me.
Keep participating. Keep saying yes to growth. Keep allowing life to surprise you.
Because that is how a meaningful life is created. Not by watching it unfold, but by becoming part of it.
To your highest and best,
Dianna
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