Risks

To laugh is to risk
appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk
appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another
is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk
exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams
before a 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.

But risks must be taken,
because the greatest hazard in life
is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing,
does nothing, has nothing and is nothing,
They may avoid suffering and sorrow
but they cannot
learn, feel, change, grow, love, live,
Chained by their certitudes
they are a slave,
they have forfeited their freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.