Applauding Otters

There was a long period of time when playing a gig, any gig, was a big ordeal for me. It wasn’t fun. But it felt like something I had to do. And after doing it, there was usually a sense of relief.

That was as good as it got.

At one point I told myself that I had to find a way to enjoy myself. Or else stop altogether. And thankfully, over a period of years I have managed to start looking forward to playing gigs the vast majority of the time.

All of this came to mind two days ago when I kind of made myself go out with my tent for a night, as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog. I’ve done that before, and been so focussed on coping with the practicalities and dealing with the crazy little fears of being alone in the dark somewhere, that it has been comparable in many ways to my previous gigging experience. More of a relief to have done it and come out the other end intact.

When I was camping the other night I suddenly got a new sense of confidence that I would be, that I was, learning to enjoy the whole experience. And that my experience in learning to enjoy performing at music gigs was the proof that things could and would change even more for the better.

And then like a round of hearty ovation at the end of a gig, I had yesterday’s Applauding Otters to round things off perfectly.

#TheOtterSong

So the lesson I’m learning is this: stepping outside of our comfort zone is not about the suffering! It’s about the process of changing our minds and learning to enjoy something new, that subsequently rewards us with a whole heap of benefits which we would miss out on otherwise.