Running around in Mud and Water.
With Strangers - February 2017.
When a younger friend I cycled with asked me to join him and his friends on a day out
at a local adventure/team building location.
Initially, I was admittedly a little apprehensive because I didn't know anyone else
who was going to be there; they were his friends, not mine.
Of course, there was also the issue because we live in a small town where many people still judged me,
made assumptions about my life and why I had almost died in an ICU at 40.
I couldn't help thinking, why bother? I don't need to go or explain myself again.
All they will want to see is the life I lived previously, the amount I used to drink, and attach a label.
It didn't take long before I'd agreed to go; importantly, it was done intentionally.
Another Incredible Day.
The day turned out to be a fantastic experience, offering me the opportunity
to meet new people and to overcome myself in places I'd not yet explored.
Look at Bambi slipping and sliding around in the mud, as they laughed.
Fortunately, due to the growth across my whole system I'd experienced since
deciding to create my new identity and life in July 2014, what would have been taken as an attack
just a few years before was laughed off, and taken as another growth experience.
I'd done one day like this before with Autodesk; it was hosted at GoApe,
and there were many Autodesk employees/managers there, along with
employees, managers, and owners from other Autodesk System Centres like ours.
As with most experiences like this, I battled my way through it, attempting not to show weakness,
to be in control and look together, even when my system was screaming how uncomfortable it was.