Security

Germaine Greer is a legend in her own time, a leading feminist in the ‘burn the bra,’ era, yet Germaine has something to say about security.

“Security is when everything is settled, when nothing can happen to you; security is the denial of life.”

– Germaine Greer

If we think about those words, to live life we have to face risks. The trick is to balance that risk with practical common sense and find that happy medium between living and managing risk.

Zipline

Recently I attended an Adventure Climbing Park. At my age, it is an unusual thing to do and I have not done it before. But it was now or never, I thought. Last Chance station. So I gave it a go.

The task was to climb trees, harnessed in for safety about 20 metres up a tall tree, and walk across progressively more difficult and wobbly bridges and ropes from platform to platform suspended high above the ground, with no exit until the end of the course.

I was keen yet I was terrified. Terrified of falling off the bridge and hanging in my harness mid-air 20 metres up, until some 20 something park attendant could rescue me. How he would rescue me, I did not know and that was even more terrifying! This single thought propelled me onwards when I doubted my ability to continue.

This task that I was so keen to undertake was way out of my usual comfort zone and was designed to test your physical strength and mental resilience. After several reasonably easy initial steps climbing nets that gradually took us higher and higher into the trees, I faced walking across a tightrope – still harnessed in.

This was a real challenge balancing and stepping carefully and I balked at it, thinking there was no way I could do it, but as there was no way down, I inched across sideways, little by little, hanging on to the harness for grim life, until I made it safely to the other side.

NB. This was the Beginners course!

Photo credit: www.treetopchallenge.com.au/sunshine-coast-adventure

https://www.treetopchallenge.com.au/sunshine-coast-adventure

After traversing six or more wobbly poles and ropes that made my upper body muscles tremor with fear/tension? I reached the end and ziplined my way to ground again. Phew! I did it.

Would I do it again?

No! Did I enjoy it? Yes. But it was nerve wracking!

Stepping out of one’s comfort zone and performing calculated risks may allow for personal growth in confidence, ability and perhaps reduction of stress associated with the previous level of risk.

How willing are you to step out and face risks?

More on Greed Risk and Desire

“Wealth is not about having a lot of money; it’s about having a lot of options.”

-Chris Rock

Managing money often results in behaviours that might be regarded as greed or human competitiveness . Some folks feel an adrenaline rush at the prospect of making unexpected money. Creating wealth is often perceived to be a vehicle to a better quality of life or standard of living but can also awaken greed, which we began discussing in last week’s post.

Our investing brains come equipped with a biological mechanism that is more aroused when we anticipate a profit than when we actually get one.

Your MOney and Your Brain ~Jason Zweig

Human nature has evolved over millenia in competition with others. Within isolated island smaller tribal communities appear to live in relative harmony, perhaps even without competition or strong desires. With the introduction of external influences, comes desire, competition and inevitably conflict.

The potential of gaining or losing something of value – greed – this culminates in a selfish desire for something. Who of us can free ourselves totally from the desire for a better life?

Better an empty purse than wrongly got money

(Betre tom pung enn rangt skaffa pengar)

Swedish Proverb

Greed is often characterised by a weak capacity for independent judgment with a strong appetite for measuring up against one’s peers.

The pride of dying rich raises the loudest laugh in hell

– John W. Foster

So is competition and desire a unavoidable part of human existence at some point?

Is greed wrapped up in maintaining our reputation? Is it based on our social status or our perceived performance amongst peers?

What do you think of the quotes and sayings here.

Everyone’s opinion is important. What is yours?

Join in the discussion of Sunday Sayings* by leaving a comment.

*Several years ago, I created ‘Proverbial Friday’ on my blog which has now morphed into Sunday Sayings. I became fascinated with traditional proverbs and sayings, their metaphorical layers and the many different interpretations found within just a few, succinct words. I marveled at their ability to transcend race, religion, opinions and age.

Proverbial Thursday – Global Wisdom

Proverbs and sayings often provide us with wise words from all corners of the world.  Best savoured a little at a time, these sayings are passed down from generation to generation. Each Thursday, I post a saying, or proverb and a quote that I find thought-provoking. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

 

The theme of this week’s wisdom is kindness.

“The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm”

– Swedish Proverb

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late

 -Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century- Wiki.]

My Yoga teacher used to say that,

“Smiling was an art that comes from the heart and should be practised all the time.”

The kindest people I have met have had the loveliest, most genuine smiles. The heart may be the centre of love, but the smile is the centre of kindness!

Life may buffet and bruise us and although we put on a brave front, life experience and  hard knocks are indelibly etched on our faces, and especially on our smiles.

If someone can’t find a smile, give them one of yours. Light up their day!

 

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Kindness costs nothing, yet can make a world of difference.

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible!”  -Dalai Lama

 

The Swedish proverb seems to both reinforce and contradict this advice.

What do you think?

Join in the discussion by leaving a comment below.

 

 

Proverbial Thursdays at Something to Ponder About

Proverbial Thursday

Proverbs and sayings often provide us with wise words from all corners of the world.  Best savoured a little at a time, these sayings are passed down from generation to generation. Each Thursday, I post a saying, or proverb and a quote that I find thought-provoking.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

The quotes and proverbs I have chosen this week, relate to friendship.

That eternal concept that occupies much of our daily thoughts.

My daughter is having a crisis of sorts in her friendship group.

It is often complicated navigating adolescence with teenage girls.

 

 

The friends of our friends are our friends –

-Congolese Proverb

 

and this:

Promises may get friends, but ’tis performances that keep them –

Plutarch

(Thanks to the blogger Peggy for the book from which the quote came).

 

Friends come and go frequently in our life. They are often themed around where we live, what we do, hobbies and interests.

Sometimes friends can be unhelpful or hurtful leading one down a dangerous path. 

Fair weather friends are hard to understand.

Moreover, though, friendship is a beneficial experience.

Friends can help a person cope with extraordinary struggle and pain with a simple hug or a welcoming smile.

Friends reflect back society’s attitudes in a softer way, guiding us to where we have gone wrong.

Friends might let one down, but also reassure, entertain and teach.

Friends may live close by or far away..

Friends care.

Friends through Art

 

Why do we feel so heartbroken when a friendship collapses? Commonly, another friend may soon enters one’s life, and when this happens, we then have a wonderful opportunity to meet someone different. Someone with new perspectives and values.

Why, then, is it so hurtful to lose a friend?

What do you make of the proverb and quote for this week?

Join in the discussion by leaving a comment.

Proverbial Thursday

Something to Ponder About

Proverbial Thursday – Global Wisdoms

I find there to be profound wisdom in proverbs, sayings and quotes and I marvel at the way they are so succinct in communicating messages to the reader. Mostly anonymous, they come to us from past generations and from across cultures. They speak of the experiences of lives lived and lessons learned. Quotes, like proverbs, make us think more deeply about something.

Each Thursday, I post a Proverb or Saying and a Quote that I find thought-provoking. 

I hope you think so too.

This week, I present several quotes that are interconnected.

 

“Only when we fully embrace change, can you find the good in it.”

Dr Travis Bradbury

 

“You do the thing you’re scared shit-less of and then you get your courage. Not before.

That’s the way it works” – [from The Three Kings]

 

Does courage really come secondary to actions? I feel one must have courage and fortitude to initiate a dangerous manoeuvre, to ignore and override those instincts of self-preservation.

What do you think?

 

But then, there is this:

“We cling to the views that are familiar to us” – unknown

 

 

Why do we cling to the familiar?

Because familiar viewpoints make us feel safe and more predictable?

Is our perspective of actions, a kind of spectrum, wherein at one end, we would sit within a bubble, or a cocoon, safe and never stretching ourselves, and the other, indulge in highly dangerous and risk taking behaviour, stepping completely out of our comfort zone? Some risk takers say that is when they feel most alive?

How do we achieve the middle ground? Is that where we would feel most satisfied and most alive, without dancing with death? 

 

The final word comes from Anais Nin: –

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

 

 

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on courage. Join in the discussion by leaving a comment.

 

Proverbial Thursday – Something to Ponder About