The stage of ‘life as pilgrimage’ that corresponds to the geographical pilgrimage stage of “Leaving” is risk taking.
In these days of health and safety and risk assessment there seems to be a genuine attempt to destroy our sense of adventure. Risk, by it’s very nature, is not totally predictable…in the right circumstances that’s what makes it so desperately attractive, as well as potentially…risky!
Every new choice we make requires us to be prepared to put our money where our mouth is, to step out into the unknown, to risk failure as well as success…even if we’ve weighed it all up and have some degree of security that it won’t all go pear-shaped.
Remove risk by legislating against it, or by personally being more secure with the ‘known’, the ‘familiar’ and we run the risk of part of us dying inside, even though we may be safe and secure from actual physical harm.
Every choice we make must be matched by an equal willingness to go, to do whatever it is we’ve purposed to do. The relationship, the new venture, the change of career, the move to a new location all have a degree of predictable security about them, but ultimately we are required to take the risk that we don’t have it all sewn up.
This is how we grow, and how we learn to survive even the bad risks…by taking the risk in the first place!
Pilgrim Traveller 