Are you a “what if” person at all?  You know the kind of person that I’m talking about!  The person who manages to second guess everything with a very justified “what if”?  What if this is the wrong decision?  What if it all turns out super badly?  What if that delightful handbag isn’t there when I go back to the store?  What if?  What if?  What if??

I, am a self-proclaimed “what if” person.  Or at least I was.  I would give myself no end of grief because of these two little words.  I could easily go from zero to a hundred in sixty seconds with at least a dozen worst possible scenarios under my belt before even attempting to make a big life decision.  Seriously, it’s enough to drive you nuts!  This is a trademark characteristic of a worrier…something that I’ve been for as long as I can remember.  And the reality is that you can never actually know.  You can never know what outcome might result from a different choice.  You are also never meant to.  It’s part of the beauty of life.  So it makes worrying and wondering seem like a massive waste of time!!

I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but somewhere along the zip line between zero and a hundred, I realized that – like everything else in life – even this type of worrying has a flip side to it.  Sure, you can question yourself to death with what ifs.  What if you lose your health?  What if it’s the wrong trip to go on?  What if you run out of time…love…money…?  These are all valid questions {albeit a bit exhausting!} but, what about the other possibility…which is just as possible as the negative alternative?  What if you go on that blind date and end up meeting the man of your dreams?  What if it turns out the be the greatest experience of your life?  What if everything you’ve ever wanted becomes your reality?  What if you start asking yourself those questions for a change?

If you are one of those people that can’t help but throw those two giant {yet oh so tiny} words before every question…then at least do yourself the courtesy of being allowed to travel to the other extreme as well.  At least let yourself see the glorious possibilities and not just the dreadful ones.

When I headed back to my car after having spent the afternoon with Sabrina & Bill, I found myself lingering in the what ifs again.  What if I had never taken the leap?  What if I had let the fear take over my passion?  What if I had never picked up a camera and taken a deep breath?  I can’t even imagine how different my life would be.  I wouldn’t have met these two amazing people…I wouldn’t have laughed with them for two hours over their funny stories…I wouldn’t have indulged in hearing about the beautiful plans for their wedding next summer.

But then, as I soaked in the final moments of our session together I also asked another – far more important – question…

Why would I even want to ponder the alternatives when my reality is so absolutely incredible?

Sabrina & Bill…thank you for making me think about all the best kind of questions…