Boldly

Strange word “boldly”. It is familiar but probably a word I would rarely use in writing or conversation. My first reaction is to recall the opening lines of the tv series “Star Trek”, see below.

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!

– spoken by William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk

To live boldly though? I can only presume it is to continually step out of your comfort zone. It could be in pursuit of something you feel passionate about. Or to take on a challenge that is a little risky but brings you an inordinate amount of self satisfaction or improvement. I don’t think I have lived boldly enough, I was always conscious of my lack of qualifications when considering new job possibilities and tended to stay in the same job because of that. However I did take one opportunity which was right out of my comfort zone; I took on a 2 year contract as an IT Manager for a company based in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. And this was as a solo parent with two young school-age boys in my care. I am not sure that I gained a lot from it though other than life experiences I could not have gained anywhere else.