I’ve been contemplating some important decisions. When I discuss them with others, their first response is about the risks inherent in each option. I know this comes from a sense of love and protection, but what about the joys, the pleasures, and the benefits of new action? So I’ve begun to wonder if any aspects of living are risk-free. Then I found this…
To try is to risk failure.
To hope is to risk despair.
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To place our ideas, our dreams before the crowd
is to risk ridicule.
To expose our feelings is to risk exposing our true self.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
These truths are self-evident. We have no control over the outcome of our actions. We have no control over how people respond. But can we live without taking risks? When we refuse to take risks we're stuck – we can create nothing, have nothing, do nothing.
Avoiding risk is an attempt to avoid suffering. But how can we learn, grow, change, feel, or love, without taking a chance? Without accepting risk we’re slaves – chained by the need to be certain of positive results before taking action. Certainty is an illusion.
Embrace risk and be free.
SOURCE: Unknown author.