Dip Your Feet In

Artwork and poetry by Missy Moo

there is something rather lovely about sitting on the edge of a boat

with your bare feet dangling over the water.

the sun warming your shoulders.

the gentle slap of water against the wooden sides.

that earthy, slightly salty smell that seems to belong

to nowhere else.

and the water,

just inches beneath your toes, waiting.

I wonder how many times we do this in life.

sit on the edge of something we really want to experience

and talk ourselves out of it.

what if it’s too cold?

what if it’s too deep?

what if I make a complete bloody fool of myself?

and so we sit.

watching.

wondering.

waiting for someone to tell us it’s going to be alright.

but the older I get the more I realise

that nobody really knows what’s waiting beneath

the surface.

and perhaps

that’s the beautiful thing

about being alive.

we aren’t supposed to know everything.

we aren’t supposed to have it all worked out.

sometimes we are simply supposed to have a go.

to feel the cold water curl around our ankles.

to laugh when it makes us gasp.

to make little circles with our toes

and watch the ripples travel somewhere

we cannot see.

because isn’t that what life is really about?

the feeling of things.

the first sip of hot tea on a freezing morning.

rain running down your face.

the smell of woodland after a storm.

someone reaching for your hand.

the butterflies

before doing something that absolutely terrifies you.

all those tiny moments that remind us we are here.

we are breathing.

we are alive.

and yes,

sometimes we will get hurt.

sometimes the water will be bloody freezing.

sometimes we will wish we had kept our feet

firmly on dry land.

but sometimes something wonderful happens.

we discover that we are braver than we thought.

that the world is bigger than our fears.

and that happiness doesn’t always come

from knowing what happens next.

sometimes it comes from not knowing at all.

so sit on the edge

for a little while.

feel the warmth on your skin.

listen to the water.

take it all in.

but don’t spend your whole life wondering what it feels like.

dip your feet in.

make some ripples.

have a bloody adventure.

because one day when you’re looking back

over all the years you’ve been lucky enough to live,

I hope you remember the things you did.

the places you went.

the people you loved.

the moments that made your heart beat a little faster.

and not all the times you sat safely on the edge

wishing you had just dipped your bloody toes in.

Love from Missy Moo xxx