I love Leo Buscaglia! The back of the book that I am reading - Living, Loving & Learning - describes him as "America's most beloved teacher, author, lecturer..." and one of the quotes from the same back of the same book says:
"We've got to learn to trust again, to believe again. Of course it's a risk, but everything is a risk. We need to begin to go beyond just 'being' again. We've got to get in touch with being human and there's a difference."
That is so Leo!
As I'm reading this on the bus on the way home after work today, I ran across a passage I just have to share - it's on page 201 of this particular edition (published in 1982), in the section called "Teach Life." Here goes:
"'To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.' Well, so what? Fools have a lot of fun.
"'To weep is to risk being called sentimental.' Of course I'm sentimental. I love it! Tears can help.
"'To reach out to another is to risk involvement.' Who's risking involvement? I want to be involved.
"'To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self.' What else to I have to show?
"'To place your ideas and your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive.' Oh, I'm called worse things than that.
"'To love is to risk not being loved in return.' I don't love to be loved in return.
"'To live is to risk dying.' I'm ready for it. Don't you dare shed one tear if you hear that Buscaglia blew up in the air or dropped dead. He did it with enthusiasm. (BTW he passed away June 12, 1998 - check out the article on Wikipedia about him.)
"'To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure.' But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life it to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. Chained by his certitudes, he's a slave. He's forfeited his freedom. Only the person who risks is truly free. Try it and see what happens."
So what are you willing to risk today to be truly free in this life?
Namaste!
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