The Joy of New Beginnings

I know I am posting at a prolific rate, today, but we have to take the time when it is available, I guess. I have been reflecting on that intangible thing that I enjoy so much about moving to new and different places. It is certainly a joy to experience a new culture, learn a new language and see new things, but there is something else that I have only recently realized. Do you remember, as a kid, how little you cared about making mistakes? When you used a word improperly your mother kindly corrected you and you thought no more about it. Or when fielding grounders in Little League and a ball inevitably slipped through your legs your father would say, "That's Ok, but don't be afraid to get your glove dirty. Try another one." And you never felt self-conscious about messing up. Then we grew up and people started saying "he's faster than you", or "she's prettier than you", or "why can't you be more like him?" Then the pressure mounted to do everything right all the time. Suddenly our teen years saw us transformed into these timid creatures, afraid to assert ourselves for fear that we might make a mistake somewhere along the way. But moving into an altogether different culture changes all that. As a new arrival, everyone expects you to make mistakes, and no one makes you feel bad about it. I don't speak Japanese. But if I try to say something in Japanese, and it comes it out horribly wrong, no one mocks the effort. Like when we were kids, they will politely correct me, but with encouragement. There is no fear of ridicule for a lack of understanding or knowledge. It provides a great freedom to try new things, and a great comfort of knowing that the people around you are there to help. I hope this makes sense, despite my failure to articulate it any better, but I thought I might share this little musing on behalf of anyone who might have been afraid to travel outside their comfort zone. Take a leap like a kid from a diving board. I assure you that those in the pool will be there to catch you.