RISK IT

To laugh is to risk
being a fool.
To weep is to risk
appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another
is to risk involvement.
To express feelings is to risk
exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd
Is to risk their 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 is to risk
failure.
The person who risks nothing,
Does nothing,
Has nothing
and is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But they simply cannot learn,
Feel,
change,
grow,
love or live.
Risks must be taken because,
the greatest hazard in life
is to risk nothing.
Only a person who risks is free." ~Leo Buscalia