security is mostly a superstition. it does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. life is either a daring adventure or nothing - helen keller
a ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are made for - william shedd
two tuesdays ago was the scheduled monthly meeting for all volunteers...... aside from talking about the status of our visits and our patients we also do some workshop stuff and that night was "One Month to Live - Risking Greatness"...... like, what will you do if you found out that you just have one month to live? will you stay inside your shell and wallow on self pity or will you start taking risks? i did write some things that i would do if my days are numbered but they're not for public consumption......... they are just so cheesy it's embarassing, lol
anyway........... i just thought i need to pour out my thoughts about taking risks......
is it better to be "safe" than to experience life at it's fullest? my answer is no......
my friends always thought of me as complicated.......... that i would sometimes do things the hard way.......... that i can't stay in one place.............. that i tend to deviate from the normal flow of things (therefore the label non-comformist)......... what some of them don't understand is i do things that way sometimes because i want to see and to know what's out there...... i want to feel how it feels like to deviate from normal (boring) path........... i do want to get out of my comfort zone once in a while.......... i don't like just staying in my nest, i need to fly........
ofcourse there would be risks when you trudge the unknown but hey, that's the fun of it...... case in point........ if i stayed in my country, sure i would still have a high-paying job (yes, Php40,000/month is just too low of an offer for a java programmer w/ 10 years experience)........ sure i have my dad who can take care of me when i'm sick...... sure, all my close friends that i've known for a long time will always be there for me when i need someone to go to a movie or people-watch with or go shopping or just hang out on coffee shops with...... they're there when i need to pour my heart out "anytime"........ yes,that's living in my "comfort zone", my "safe" life.........
nothing wrong with it actually but then if i stayed i wouldn't have experienced these things i had and will experience....... i won't get to meet all those wonderful people i met....... it's true, some of them broke my heart, some of them forgot about me one new year's eve that i ended up gulping half a bottle of tequila all by myself because of depression, lol (spending holidays alone just drives me nuts)......... but that's fine.... because if not for all those experiences i wouldn't have realized how i shouldn't depend my happiness on anyone............ if not for those who broke my heart and who have trampled on my spirit & dignity i couldn't have learned how all the more i should appreciate those genuine and caring friends who will always be there for me and would never hurt me and would never leave me....... if i haven't experienced rejection i couldn't have learned my lesson in humility and patience............. if i haven't met that special friend i wouldn't have realized how physical appearance should stay in the back seat and what matters is how you get along and that there's trust and everything else should be secondary.....
and ofcourse there's also risk involved in relationships.......... i know of a lot of people who would shy away from relationships because they're afraid to get hurt, to be vulnerable--i'm the opposite.......... i embrace it and savor it while it lasts (or atleast until i get back to my senses, lol)......... it's useless to worry about advance problems that we are not even sure would happen............ we should learn to let go of what is not yet otherwise we won't be able to enjoy the present........... like what Siddhartha Gotama, Theranamo Sutta once said: "Let go of what is past. Let go of what is not yet. Observe deeply what is happening in the present moment, but do not become attached to it."
it's normal to be cautious ofcourse, but try not to over do it..... don't give in to prejudices, give everyone a chance to prove to you that they're worth loving.......that person might be the "one" for all we know........ or he/she might not be the right one for you but how would you know that if you didn't atleast try? that's why i'd rather embrace the "now" and just deal with the short comings and problems as they come rather than worrying way too ahead in advance.......... it's really not worth it being overly paranoid and to be afraid of taking risks because that might just ruin your relationships or your chance of a better future........
yes, it's scary but some risks are worth taking (choose your "risks" wisely)..........do i get scared before "plunging" into the unknown? ofcourse! but my mentality is i try to eliminate as many could-have-beens and might-have-beens in my life as possible because it would be a real bummer to look back when i'm all wrinkly and with a terrible case of athritis, full of regrets and whacking my self on the head wondering "why the heck was i such a wimp? i should have atleast tried..."
"Let go of what is past. Let go of what is not yet. Observe deeply what is happening in the present moment, but do not become attached to it."...........
