Comments on "To Risk"
"To laugh is to risk appearing the fool."
I have a weird laugh.
It's almost embarrassing.
So I laugh even when no one else laughs.
People stare and think I'm weird.
And I am better for it.
"To weep is to risk being called sentimental."
A man is not supposed to cry.
I don't appear masculine when I cry.
So I cry. I cry when I'm happy, when I'm sad.
I let myself be moved to tears
And I am better for it.
"To reach out to another is to risk involvement."
If I get involved, I get attached.
I get attached; I can't let go.
So I get involved and experience pain letting go.
I help as best I can.
And I am better for it.
"To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self."
If I show my true self, you may not love me.
You'll see me for the wreck and sinful man that I am.
So I expose my feelings and wear my heart out on my sleeve.
My faithful friends still love me and the untrue leave.
And I better for it.
"To place you ideas and your dream before the crowd is risk being called naive."
If I show you my dreams, you may put me down.
You may call me crazy and say it can't be done.
So I dream and express my crazy ideas.
Some are accepted. Some are not. Some succeed and some do not.
And I am better for it.
"To love is to risk not being loved in return."
If I love you, you will hurt me. The more I love you, the more you'll hurt me.
We are most hurt by those we love and trust.
So I love as much as I can. I trust and I get hurt.
And I am better for it.
"To live is to risk dying."
If I live life to the full, I will be in danger.
I may even die, but even to die is gain.
So I live life with gusto and I get injured, but I'm not dead yet.
And I am better for it.
"To hope is to risk despair, and to try is risk failure."
If I put my trust in hope, I may find I was wrong.
If I try what I've never done, there is a greater chance I'll not succeed.
So I hope for the best and I try my hardest.
And I am better for it.
"Because risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. Chained by his certitudes, he's a slave. He's forfeited his freedom. Only the person who risks is truly free"
I am something.
I learn.
I grow.
I love.
I live.
I am free.
I risk!
Author notes
The poem is interspersed as comments on the quotes.
~ the first half is by anonymous quoted in Living, Loving and Learning by Leo Buscaglia
~ the second half is by Leo Buscaglia
Written October 7th, 2004
In a list
A contest entry
- Practicing Wisdom (Contest) by .
400 points, ended October 10, 2004, 19 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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Another good message in this poem. We need to take risks! If we're not risking, we're not living, we're not loving, we're not learning..I agree! Leo Buscaglia is one of my favorite authors.
Maureen
Edited on Feb 26, 9:45 because ''. -
Congratulations on your Bronze, melphleg!
Well done, well deserved!
~ G
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Wonderful words of wisdom and very well thought out....... Leaving I hope in the minds of the reader that taking risks isn't always bad............
thanks for sharing
take care
sanity
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This is a good piece of wisdom to follow. I have to learn to take more risks, though that can be so difficult once you have been hurt. I supose if I took more risks, maybe I wouldn't be single, lol. These are excellent words to live by.
Take Care,
Christine
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I really like how you wrote this...very creative indeed. I also love the topic. It's taken me a long time (and I'm still working on it) to step out in faith...to risk and become the better person for it! And indeed...we are better persons for it! Thank you for imparting this wisdom and your approach to taking risks. I'm going to bookmark this so I can remind myself from time to time to be brave!
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Very well done! Excellent explication of what those quotes mean in 'practice'.
(You may want to proofread carefully, there are a few typos of missing letters, and "salve" where I think you meant 'slave'.)
~ G
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Oh okay- that is what I thought at first, but then your comments confused me. This shows a true heart of character. I really enjoyed your comments to the quotes the best.
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I didn't write what's in quotes. The comments on the quotes, I wrote.
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so you didn't write any of this? I really enjoyed reading it. And even if you didn't write it it says a lot about you as a person.
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Kinda reminds me of that Alanis song (can't think of the name of it- it's probably something some like "You Learn" or something like that). This was a wonderful way to handle this contest idea. I really liked how you took all those quotes and dissected them, made them personal. Very nice.
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