Americans are enamoured with being safe and comfortable. We want our food to be safe, our water to be safe, our kids to be safe, our investments to be safe; in fact, we have become so risk-averse that we are willing to sue almost anyone who inconveniences or discomforts us in any way at all. Newspapers are littered with the stories of such litigious pettiness.
I have been thinking lately, however, that such a fixation on absolute safety must be one of the most dangerous ways to live. Imagine a life with no risk, no danger, no reaching for the improbable. Think for a moment what life would be like in a world where nobody ever defied their own comfort zone. Someone once said that a "rut" is just a grave with the ends kicked out. And yet, for the most part, many of us live every day in a little rut...a little grave...a little comfort zone where we feel safe and protected from life's "what-ifs".
I don't want to live like that. And I suspect many of you don't either. Maybe this should be the year to take that trip you've always wanted to take. Or start that business you've dreamed about but have put off so many times for fear of failure or because of "the economy"(whatever THAT means!). Maybe now is a great time to start that retirement fund even if it's only 20 bucks a month. Or start a blog! Whatever it is...for you...take the 1st step...you never know where it will lead. Sometimes being safe...is just way too dangerous!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)