Into the Unknown.

In seven days I will be boarding a plane, by myself, to explore Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I have no idea who I will meet or where I will be staying yet. I don't really have much of an agenda (well, aside from coming back alive), but I would like to hang glide over Rio and take a two day trek through the Serra dos Orgaos. The rest of my trip will be left to chance and living outside of my comfort zone, as it's not always easy traveling to a foreign country by yourself. We'll see what Brazil holds for me...

People like familiarity. Not deviating from routine. Security is comforting. However, isn't security just an illusion? At any moment in time you can lose your life, contract a disease, lose a loved one, etc. By just simply existing, there is an inherent risk in everything we do. How can we be comfortable with the unpredictability of life (something we cannot control) yet when we're presented with a decision that we are in full control of making, we often choose unhappiness over uncertainty. When it comes to personal risk, it seems as if we are afraid to move forward and take that next step because we don't know what awaits us on the other side.

Are we really willing to sacrifice our happiness in the name of comfort? Why so? I believe it's in part due to how we are raised. It's as if from birth, we have a social time line of events that we are expected to follow; go to college, get a job, meet a significant other, fall in love, work your way up the corporate ladder, put money down on a house, have a few kids, take a few trips to Disney world then watch your kids grow up and repeat the cycle.

Would uncertainty breed fear if societal norms and expectations did not exist? Or does it simply add fuel to an ever burning fire? When did we learn to associate uncertainty with the fear of failure? Uncertainty and the unknown should be exciting; it should bring hope of a better tomorrow and a chance for positive change.

"Imposed values and beliefs, Tear it down."--Hatebreed