Life is a Gamble

I was sure I was right with that decision made in August 1976. Or the one in September of 1981, or was it 1984? You know, the time I hoped I had it right when I decided to speak the truth to my boss, or his! The consequences were high. But the truth needed airing.

Bold. But right?

I don’t remember now. Too much time has passed. I do recall times like those, however, when I didn’t play it safe and spoke my mind. Totally unlike my nature, really. I normally kept quiet, thought things through and prepared a reasoned comment or two for the current discussion.

Over time I realized – yes, slowly realized – that the open moments were best to make a point that was important. Those were the instances when people got real about the discussion and really talked about what was important. Group thinking began to take root and ideas were shared that deeply affected the outcomes. Collaboration became a thing with the group. We birthed our team.

The gamble to speak the mind paid off then. And many times since.

Life is a gamble. We do not have a full set of directions on how to live, what to think, what to value. All of those things come from living life and letting them teach us. Those lessons are huge. These are the values we build together and live by.

Gambles are trying big, engaging the raw reality of life and making the best of it.

I’ve made plenty of decisions that were just plain wrong. I didn’t know it at the time. I hoped for the best. I still don’t know what worked and what didn’t. The unseen consequences are felt by many not the least being me. And then others feel impacts we are not aware of.

Did my comment made in passing compliment or insult the recipient? I meant it as compliment, but now I realize it could easily have been understood otherwise. Oh man! Do you think it was taken the right way? Did that one comment make the person’s day or dash it? I will never know. Good intentions don’t always work.

Best I take gambles so better outcomes have a chance to be. Maybe I need to be more careful on how those gambles are formed to reduce unintentional damage. Maybe I should watch my word crafting? But then doesn’t this negate the gamble? Doesn’t it shroud the meaning and make it safer but less impactful?

Yes, guarded words cloud open thinking. Guardedness blurs the gamble. Better we be bold for clarity and freshness of thought. Best if we take the gamble and learn all the consequences. That is how we learn, uncover the larger possibility. That is collaborative and enlightening.

Yes, life is a gamble, a series of gambles. That is what we know as openness. silence is not a good option.

August 19, 2022

 

 

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