What would life be like without risks? What if we knew the outcome of every venture we’ve ever considered? What if we saw ahead to the results of taking a gamble? Then, it would not be a gamble at all. Instead, we would have certainty, a guarantee, or assurance. But life isn’t like that at all.

  Oh! The Risks We Take

Without exposing myself to the unknown, the mystery and the unpredictable, I would have lived a much more restrictive life than I have. I’d be single, living in the same town I was born in and without a college degree. I would never have published a book, spoken in front of an audience or become a certified yoga instructor. In short, I would have lived life fenced in by certainty.  

I think about how at the age of eighteen, I traveled from Nebraska to Idaho in an old Volkswagen. I had never been farther west than Colorado and frankly, had only a vague idea where Idaho was located. I had no job prospects waiting for me and my only goal at that time was to get as far away from my mother as possible. Still, equipped with my sense of adventure, my motivation to move forward and the naivety of a teenager, I drove West and still to this day, remain a resident of Idaho. 

Committing to marriage was another risk I took. It wasn’t a complete plunge into the unknown, but it did involve letting go of the assurances I wanted. I wanted a guarantee that the man I married would never leave me or fall out of love with me. In essence, I wanted to be certain I’d be happy forever, free from disappointments, as well as safe and secure. Yet, the only assurance I could give myself was that there were no guarantees. I went forward anyway and am still, to this day, glad I did. 

Though I’d always kept a journal, wrote inspirational pieces for small publications and magazines, I’d never envisioned publishing a book or launching a blog on the internet. Yet, you, my audience, have seen the invisible become visible. Sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter, the story in my head became pages in a book. And words continue to shape themselves into blog posts. Baby step by baby step, I’ve become a published author. I went forward, into the unknown world of publishing, and am still, to this day, glad I did. 

Why bother taking a risk? Without taking ventures, plunges and chances, we aren’t really living our lives. We are only pretending that life is safe.