Take A Chance

There's a quote I read once and I liked it so much that I had it framed and it sits in a prominent place in my apartment where I can see it every day. Sometimes I think people, myself included, are too afraid to put themselves out there, to take risks, to let themselves be vulnerable every once in a while.

This whole blogging experience has been a huge risk because at the end of the day, there are no guarantees. I chose to title my blog "5th Time's The Charm", yet it has ended up being something of an unresolved issue for me personally. So I did compete in the Olympics for a fifth time, but it was certainly not "the charm" that I had envisioned for myself.

Yet, I was willing enough to put it out there, that that was my dream and my goal and even though things didn't turn out the way that I might have hoped, in some ways it has forced me to appreciate everything that I have encountered along the way. Not to evaluate my life solely in terms of achievements, trivial or monumental, important as they may be, but instead allowing myself to be fulfilled by the experiences that I've had, the friends that I've made and the challenges that I've overcome.

The ride continues to be outstanding and in some respects maybe "the charm" has been in the doing all along and my willingness to take a chance on myself and only now have I begun to fully acknowledge, understand and cherish that. So maybe it was a charm after all...

That being said, here's that quote:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom
Only a person who risks is free.

--Anonymous Chicago Teacher