I had this conversation with Shannon just a couple of days ago. We were talking about living life to the fullest so that once we get old and incapable, we could look back with no regrets. I spoke about playing past the edge of comfort just enough to feel a little uncomfortable but not enough to feel fear. If playing this edge becomes a well-practiced exercise, then eventually the edge of the old comfort zone becomes too comfortable and needs further incursion into the uncomfortable zone. The norm is now to play the edge without risking life and limb. Of course, sooner or later, there will be a point where one cannot play the edge without some kind of managed risk. You can stop there and enjoy the ride or push matters just a little more. I used the example of my cross-Canada kayaking trip to help her understand. I definitely took risks and almost paid the ultimate price...I bit off too much to start. I went back and did it again, but took more care to bite off only small pieces of each section of the trip until my normal comfort zone included risky obstacles which I could easily manage without mishap. We had the talk because Shannon has some fears to overcome, so I wanted to demonstrate to her how to do it one little bit at a time. Interesting quote, Scott, and timely in my case.

Robert N Pruden