Taking the Plunge!

TAKING THE PLUNGE!

Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB

            Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India once said, “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” Quite often in life, there may be occasions where we may experience fear. It could be the fear of an exam, fear of what the other person will think of me, fear of failure and so on. There is nothing wrong in experiencing fear for fear is what keeps us alert. However, while there is the positive side to fear, it would be equally wrong to be overtly pre-occupied with it. Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful and this implies that to be mature means to face and not evade every fresh crisis that comes in one’s way as it is rightly said, “Courage does not mean the absence of fear but rather it means to go ahead knowing that you are afraid.”

            Muhammad Ali, one of the world’s famous boxers in the world, paraphrases the above idea in the following words, “Champions are not made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them, a desire, a dream, a vision.  They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

            Mark Twain also says something on similar lines, “The worst loneliness is not be comfortable with yourself.” There is every possibility that we could feel that we are not good enough to rise to the occasion for various reasons. Yet that should never deter us on the pursuit of our goals and our dreams.  

            I would like to conclude this short article with a quotation that I came across sometime ago,

I am strong because I am weak
I am beautiful because I know my flaws
I am a lover because I am a fighter
I am fearless because I have been afraid
I am wise because I have been foolish

And I can laugh because I have known sadness. 

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