Playing it Safe Doesn’t Create Safety
by Rev. Kamatara Johnson, Director of Collaborative Ministries
Recently, I had a rather profound realization that I was living with a hidden rule, silently guiding all my decisions and actions for the last four-plus decades. As an adult, I recognize that my childhood, at times, was terrifying. So, I worked hard from that time on to make my life safe. I followed the rules, performed well in school, and created a very “safe” life as a teacher, mother, and wife. That did well for me and got me through for quite some time.
When I look back on it now, I realize that even though I minimized what seemed like danger and difficulty to me, I still wound up experiencing some very difficult and grief-worthy times. There was no short cut or bypass around the experience that is life.
And while playing it safe did allow me to at least get into the game, I see now that this hidden rule is holding me back. I am ready for more, but that requires me to take the risk and “dare to enter the arena” (as Brene’ Brown encourages us all to do). I am called from within to play it big and grow into the immensity of this time in my life.
So, I recognize that playing it safe doesn’t create safety; it only limits what I think may be possible. I trust that the Universe is based on “eternal Goodness, the eternal Loving-kindness, and the eternal Givingness of Life” (from the “We Believes” of SOM), which aligns with my best and highest good. Life is not terrifying, difficult, or dangerous. I do not have to play it safe to win the game or even run the gauntlet completely unscathed.
I do not create safety; I am safe in the Divine. I step into the fullest expression of my life that is possible for me now and dare to enter the arena, accepting that the experience I have is good and I am safe. I am grateful for this expansion of my boundaries and my experience that is perfect the way it is. Amen