Recently, I finished re-living the NBC comedy, Fraiser. In the last moments of this epic television series, Fraiser references Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Ulysses as he is about to embark on a new phase of his life. On the surface, it appears as if Fraiser is leaving for a job in San Francisco when in reality, his plane landed in Chicago to (presumably) start a new life with a woman he had dated for three weeks. The following are excerpts from Fraiser's final monologue quoting Tennyson:

"It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;

It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,

And though we are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are—

[Scene shifts to Frasier's KACL booth.]

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will;

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

I've been thinking about that poem a lot lately. And I think what it says is that, while it's tempting to play it safe, the more we're willing to risk, the more alive we are. In the end, what we regret most are the chances we never took." (Wikipedia)

Fraiser's interpretation of this poem has become the subject matter for this post.

Throughout this journey called life, we will face decisions with a certain degree of risk attached to them. Do we dare to take the first step to initiating a new romantic relationship? What about taking the plunge to become a small business owner? How about uprooting to start a new life in another state where you only know one person? When making such decisions, how much risk are you willing to sacrifice that they will work out in your favor?

A fire service adage speaks to risk tolerance when arriving on the scene of an emergency. "Risk a lot to save a lot. Risk a little to save a little. Risk nothing to save nothing." The tolerance window requires a crew to maintain high situational awareness ( take in the big picture) before making a strategic or tactical decision. Save a lot indicates lives are at stake - therefore, enter the danger zone to affect a rescue. Risk nothing suggests that conditions are untenable, so crews should not place themselves in grave danger to recover that already lost (human life or entire property). Risk a little falls in between. You may ask, "What does this have to do with a risk worth taking?"

The emergency response does not always allow for thoughtful deliberation before acting, especially when lives are at stake. Read the scene, and then act. However, we can take more time with many of our decisions in our daily journey. When making life-changing decisions, the question is, "How much time do I need before taking that first courageous step?"

Sitting passively on the sidelines, waiting for the pros and cons (of every decision) to line up in our favor before acting, is not feasible. Responding to every aspiration this way could leave one with a life full of regrets. If you are at the crossroad of taking a life-altering action, ask yourself, "Do I play it safe, or take a chance?" I will leave you with the following quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson that may guide your answer to this question:

"It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."

Until next time -

Namaste,

Tim

References

Goodnight, Seattle. (2022, July 25). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight,_Seattle