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Today's
Meditation:
"Play it safe," they tell you. And in
many ways, I agree with them. Yes, one of the major
messages of people who tell us to live our lives fully is
that we have to be willing to take risks and to say and do
what we feel is right, but we also have to do so with
discernment, and we need to choose our battles wisely if
we're truly to make our lives exceptional and
extraordinary.
Now, there are some limbs that are weak and flimsy, and
even if there's tasty fruit out there, the risk of going
simply isn't worth it. Think of how many people have
lost their entire lives' savings because they've been
encouraged to take a risk and invest it because they might
earn significant returns on their investments. And
on the other side of the coin, you may shimmy out to the
end of a risky limb, pluck the fruit, taste it, and find
that it tastes absolutely horrible.
When John F. Kennedy, Jr., tragically crashed his plane
into the sea, killing himself, his wife, and his
sister-in-law, we saw an example of taking a risk that
simply wasn't worth it. He was flying in weather
that he wasn't qualified to fly in, and the three people
paid the ultimate price for it. Interestingly
enough, I read an article a few weeks later from someone
who praised him for being a risk-taker, for living life
fully and not letting something like bad weather keep him
from doing something that he wanted to do. But he
went out on a limb that wasn't just weak-- it was already
broken-- and he did not succeed.
"Why not go out on a limb?" There are many
reasons not to do so. There are times when I
recognize that "taking this risk will provide no
positive results at all," so I keep on keeping on and
let the opportunity slide by. And that's okay.
Other times, I've known that a risk is necessary, and when
I've taken it, things have turned out fine; when I
haven't, I've regretted my lack of action. Yes,
there may be fruit at the end of the branch, but make sure
that the risk-- and the fruit itself-- are worth it.
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