In full abandon, straining on tiptoes

A scrap of paper tucked in my journal is full of scribbled notes and words, people’s names – really it would appear to be miscellany. One phrase is “in full abandon.” The expression had a reference, but now reading it almost daily, it takes on new significance and worth.

a.ban.don: to leave and never return

(Merriam-Webster)

The word “abandon” conjures negative thinking; abandoned lot, abandoned project, abandoned people. Places and things are left for trash or individuals that have been discarded and tossed aside. This definition certainly leaves one feeling rather desolate and, well … abandoned.

On the sunny side of the street, abandon is also yielding without restraint, to give up control. It’s bursting with exuberance.

Picture being in full abandon: there’s a child running down a hillside, arms flailing and legs barely able to keep them upright. He is on the verge of tumbling head over heels, but somehow if that happened, his giggles would turn into full-on belly laughs.

There’s an unbelievable freedom and spontaneity that comes from living a life that is uninhibited by the constraints we allow others to put on us. Unbounded enthusiasm, as the Free Dictionary describes; wildness that comes from dancing on the edge tiptoes straining to see over the ledge.

What could be accomplished with a conscious decision to exist in full abandon? Each day I imagine possibilities, envision scenarios and think about how it would impact my family, friends and city. It might sound out-of-control, back to that definition of abandon, but that is what I want to experience.

Are you on your tiptoes?

Missy

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