A Soulful Journey

One unknown authored penned: To laugh is to risk appearing fool To weep is to risk appearing sentimental To reach out is to risk involvement  To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self  To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk their love  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 the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing the one who risks nothing has nothing - and finally is nothing  He may avoid sufferings and sorrow but he singly cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love  Chained up by his certitude, he is a slave; he has forfeited freedom  Only one who risks is free

The teakettle puffed its chest and boasted, “All pots have such pungent odors!  They reek of that which they cook.  Only we teakettles have the good fortune to be odorless.” An old pot standing nearby spurt a sizzling drop on the kettle’s head and scornfully retorted, “See how he tilts his crooked nose.  What else can you do, my great hero, but spout with steam? That is indeed funny!  What do you amount to?  Yes, you have no door because your contents are tasteless and odorless; you boil nothing but plain water.” Moral: To be faultless signifies nothing.  Life is about what you accomplish.

Harold Shapiro, one time president of Princeton University, said at a commencement address, “When 10,000 experiments with the storage battery failed to produce results Thomas Edison said, ‘I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work’.”   Babe Ruth struck out twice as often as he hit a homerun. Take heart.  Never give up.

A fictional story is told of a bird during the days of creation. This particular bird was created without wings and when it looked around at other birds soaring in the heavens it implored the Creator to allow it to fly. That night, whilst the bird was asleep, G–d affixedwings to its body. When the bird awoke and saw two new appendages to its body it said to G–d, “G–d, I asked you to make me fly, not to make me heavier.” G–d replied, “little bird, just flap them and you will see that you will fly.” The restrictions often seem like extra baggage but once we utilize them, they allow us to fly and soar into new heights. - Nissan Dubov