risk

Those who risk it all do so with the anticipation of something greater than their expectation being shadowed with the possibilty of losing big.

There's nothing like a good piece of reality tv to set the buzz amongst conversations. By unfortunate chance I happened to catch the "After the Final Rose" episode of the Bachelorette. Now there's quality television for you! Amidst broken hearts and sob stories, there was one sucker who got rejected on an earlier episode and "risked it all" to return to the show in hopes of winning the girl, only to be rejected a second time around...

And although I have little to no respect or sympathy for people who attempt to find true love in front of cameras and nations, there was something about this risk and rejection that set my thinking cogs in motion...
He thought he had it in the bag.
He gambled big
and ended up empty-handed at the end.
Was it worth it?
If he could go back, would he do it again?

I always thought the phrase "calculated risk" was a bit of an oxymoron. Risk involves unknown variables that cannot always be seen. There is nothing that we can possibly prepare for, guarantee, or reduce to an equation when true risk is involved.

But how many of us really risk in our lives?
Do we even know what it is anymore?
We have so much securing and insuring in our lives. Absorbed in our fast-process society, we tend to take the path of less resistance...why risk when you don't have to? The average person will stay in a job they hate because it guarantees a paycheck. They will enter into relationships that involve little pursuit because it entails a lesser chance of heartbreak. They will make the safe choices that surround them with a sense of security, lowering their aim from the stars to the things within reach.

The fear of failure.
The fear of struggling.
The fear of rejection.
The fear of vulnerability keeps us from experiencing the thrill of greater things.

But settling will never fully satisfy.
and the thought of "what if..." will haunt us on the opportune risks we let pass us by...
The risk of leaving the security of an unfulfilling job to find work that connects all of our passions.
The risk of possibly losing a friendship to unite soul mates.
The risk of being honest...
with thoughts.
feelings.
convictions.
In the life-altering.
In the miniscule.
Daring to dream.
Daring to pursue.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not advocating throwing yourself mindessly wherever the wind may take you! Risk still involves strategy...


But the bottom line the question will remain before us:
Will we place our trust in the seen? or the unseen?
At the edge of whatever chasm you are standing on, are you willing to risk the solid ground beneath you for the thrill of jumping into the unknown?
You just never know that on one of those risks of shooting for the stars, you might actually get one...