Life Is A GambleI'm All In
I can't imagine anything worse than living a secret life.
Everything in life is a gamble. You won't ever have a chance of winning what you want if you don't willingly put your chips on the table, roll the dice, or draw to an inside straight. You're either in the game or you're out. There's no halfway, no "well-maybe," no watching and wondering. Not if you want to taste the sheer excitement of being alive.
It's always a mystery to me why there are so many people who long for something or someone, for an opportunity that will truly complete them, and they do nothing. They wait in the dark corners of their emotional closet, and they never sort out what to wear. Instead, they fuss and forgive themselves for being too shy, too polite, or too insecure to risk stepping out of their secret life and into the light. They embrace the comfort of what they know and refuse the chance to risk everything for what they have never known before.
Happiness is never a sure bet, never certain, but you won't truly embrace it unless you're willing to offer everything that you are in order to find it. No one wants half of you, and you must never accept half of anyone else. All in or all out. Simple as that.
Life ... one chance to grab hold of everything you want. Sure, you'll misdeal from time to time, and sure, you'll miscalculate the odds maybe a hundred times or more, but so what? The chance to find happiness is worth every risk.
What's the alternative? Not to try? To hide every hope and dream you have ever had, because for one reason or another, you are afraid to lose?
Trust me, unless you are willing to gamble all that you are, unless you are willing to take that wild leap of faith, losing will always be your only option.
I can't imagine anything worse than living a secret life.
Everything in life is a gamble. You won't ever have a chance of winning what you want if you don't willingly put your chips on the table, roll the dice, or draw to an inside straight. You're either in the game or you're out. There's no halfway, no "well-maybe," no watching and wondering. Not if you want to taste the sheer excitement of being alive.
It's always a mystery to me why there are so many people who long for something or someone, for an opportunity that will truly complete them, and they do nothing. They wait in the dark corners of their emotional closet, and they never sort out what to wear. Instead, they fuss and forgive themselves for being too shy, too polite, or too insecure to risk stepping out of their secret life and into the light. They embrace the comfort of what they know and refuse the chance to risk everything for what they have never known before.
Happiness is never a sure bet, never certain, but you won't truly embrace it unless you're willing to offer everything that you are in order to find it. No one wants half of you, and you must never accept half of anyone else. All in or all out. Simple as that.
Life ... one chance to grab hold of everything you want. Sure, you'll misdeal from time to time, and sure, you'll miscalculate the odds maybe a hundred times or more, but so what? The chance to find happiness is worth every risk.
What's the alternative? Not to try? To hide every hope and dream you have ever had, because for one reason or another, you are afraid to lose?
Trust me, unless you are willing to gamble all that you are, unless you are willing to take that wild leap of faith, losing will always be your only option.
So true! Ill never get not reaching for what one desires. I've been burned but sure have some great stories. Lol. Life is for living. I sure don't want to sit in my rocking chair and say, if only......
ReplyDeleteI don't even want a rocking chair ... a scooter maybe ... I might like a scooter so I could go to the Tim's Drive-Thru ...
DeleteNot much sadder than someone 90 years old, without memories, sitting in a chair at the nursing home--a shell of what might have been, a shadow of relationships they might have known--had they just been a little bolder.
ReplyDeleteStill, there they sit, watching TV, waiting for the end. They never did anything and they never mattered to anyone, and nothing and no one ever mattered to them.
I think of spending all eternity as a spirit with only my memories to keep me company and wonder if I've stored up enough good ones to keep me happy for that long.
~M
Memories do seem the panacea of old age, but the trick is not to think of memories as something you stockpile but to keep building new ones with new experiences. Keeping as active as possible ... there's the key ...
Delete"Not much sadder than someone 90 years old, without memories, sitting in a chair at the nursing home--a shell of what might have been, a shadow of relationships they might have known--had they just been a little bolder.
DeleteStill, there they sit, watching TV, waiting for the end. They never did anything and they never mattered to anyone, and nothing and no one ever mattered to them."
Manfred, where is the cat?
.... Its definitely a case of jumping off at the deep end for me. I am all for the adventure ... I would rather be in the position of having to remember someone .... than having no memories at all ....
ReplyDeleteAh, "adventure" ... that's the word I'm looking for ... everything we do can be an adventure ...
Delete"I'm All In" ... the latest catch phrase for the Jaguars. Just thought you might want to know that little bit of information.
DeleteHowever, I do agree that life is an adventure with lots of twists and turns. There are days when you feel like exploring, and other days when you feel like pulling over to look at the scenery and share a P&J sandwich.
Great write! I like your style Mr James...Bond?...somehow the casino always reminds me of 007!
ReplyDelete..if you're betting the farm, make sure you pick a winner :)