Written on the white board at the gym yesterday was this:
When is it safe to risk?
I find that question an interesting ponderable. Here are
some of my thoughts about it today.
A risk is by definition hazardous and can cause harm. Being safe
appears to be the opposite of risk. To safely face a risky challenge one can
practice actions that will reduce the risks of the challenge. Perhaps with
enough practice and preparation what seemed risky previously becomes something
manageable and therefore not a risk.
On the other hand we trade off safety in a risky situation
for a resulting better good. A parent will take many risks in order to help
their child be safe, perhaps even choosing to die so that a child may live. I
have a friend who is in major surgery as I write this. He has chosen to take
the risk of the surgery and the removal of a vital organ of which he has only
one so that he has a better chance of safely living longer. By weighing the
merits and risks of a particular action we hopefully choose the path that will
be best in the long term.
Being always the safest, in this adventure called living, is
not living to our potential. Likewise taking risks for which we are adequately
not prepared is perhaps one definition of stupid.
I think that courage comes from knowing the risks, facing
the risks, in order to try to achieve a safe end, either for ourselves or for
others.
But then, I’m human and therefore I may be wrong about this.
