Risk Away This Summer

Ran across a poem the other day that I cut out from the bottom of my Celestial Seasonings tea box. I stopped to reflect upon it, as my summer of spontaneity and lung cancer survival continues..

“To laugh is to risk appearing the fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental,
To reach out for another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self,
To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd is to risk loss,
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try at all is to risk failure,
But to risk we must,
Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The man, the woman, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

I love this poem because it’s a great “mantra” to remember as I continue my journey of recovery from my last chemo treatment on May 1st. I want to go beyond just stopping to smell the roses, as I’ve always done that before my lung cancer diagnosis and surgery the day after Christmas. I want to take appropriate risks and capture the joy of the popsicle season in all its glory. I intend to embrace the hot and humid days by escaping into an ice cold movie theater with the swimming pool size of popcorn to munch on, and curl up with a good mystery novel on those days (like today) that turned out rainy and dreary.

I shall leave no day unturned and will shake, rattle, and roll it into a risk taking adventure. Why not plan out your own risks for living? Yes, I know the price of gas may prohibit some of your traveling plans, but you can certainly be creative and try a “Ladies’ Night Out” at your local supermarket as I mentioned in my last blog, or visit your local library (mine has matinee movies) or find a park to bring some ice cold lemonade and a trashy novel to escape into. I’d love to hear what your risks consist of this summer. If you let me know, I’ll gladly print up a list so we can all share in this wondrous season of adventure!