“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” TS Eliot
I want to share with you some thoughts about taking risks.
I am not even sure why I should want to do this but the Knight of Wands has been a frequent visitor this week, so I thought I would take the risk and jot it down here!
The Universe loves it when we take a risk as it means we are alive!
It requires a certain amount of courage to take risks not only as there is a subterranean power bubbling away amongst the need to take action, but it also means, that very often, we have to put our neck on the line and stand up for what we believe in. Risk has a habit of defining who we are and what we are about and just as importantly, where we are in the game of life.
Whenever I have been called upon to involve myself in the business of maximising risk in order to progress I find myself facing a challenge.
This is one of the aspects of this Knight; I see him as a back against the wall, face into the wind kinda guy. I talk of him in the masculine as it is highly unusual for Knights to be female with the exception of Joan of Arc; there have been others but their stories have been swallowed up in the mists of time and to relate their tale means we digress! As we know the cards are not gender specific. The male principle in this instance is the Animus, the active ingredient that externalises and recreates the interior in the physical world – a dynamic for challenge and risk if ever there was one!
In recent times I have come to love challenge.
When I was younger I would shy away from going that extra mile, this was because of fear. The Knight of Wands encourages us to explore our fear from the perspective of fear holding us back; the power that fear can arrest our development and to shroud our aspirations in a cloak of darkness. This Knight bravely turns power of the expectation of mistake and failure into the possibility of achieving fulfilment and joy through personal attainment.
The Knight of Wands asks us to be broad-minded and adventurous, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
An element of this card is about journeying into the unknown. When we take risk, even when calculated, insists on us facing uncertainty, we have to trust that all will be well. In my own experience I have found that risk opened portals that, although it wasn’t clear what they may open up to, in the fullness of time better things came as a result of taking the gamble. My life diverged not only in physical terms but also spiritually, emotionally and mentally.
Good risk taking is often where we have a strong intuitive sense of ourselves and the world we live in.
It is also about if it doesn’t work out then we can always try something else. This is why it is important to be in touch with our fire, our passion, our drive. The passion is our vehicle that moves us forward and we should ‘be’ our passion. If that fire is central to the vision of our future or of our idea of purpose then what ever comes from the dynamic of risk can only be about opportunity.
We create our own fortune and no experience is ever wasted.
To worry about mistakes and regrets woefully disconnect us to our purpose and vision. Mistakes are the building blocks of any successful enterprise and regrets are just things we haven’t learned yet.
The whole idea of chance and risk is to be creative and inspired. There is something inherently sad about ignoring the voice of inspiration and impulse. It is the death knell of hope and optimism.
Another aspect to consider is innovation.
As I write this, Isambard Kingdom Brunel springs to mind. Something in his untamed, free spirited inner world pushed him to take a chance with the building of canals and the development of the train. It worked, and to this day his engineering feats are celebrated and used! Most of what we see around us, anything that serves us, entertains us and even feeds us started out as a seed, an idea, that very often the outcome could not be foretold. We could go even deeper and say that even the evolution of mankind was and is a risk. Chance therefore is the expression of the dynamic of life itself.
I have learned that when I engage with my sense of purpose and vision it is important not to attach myself to the expected outcome.
This is because the success of chance takes me beyond my furthest wish for what could actually happen, in other words don’t limit myself but honour my imagination and to have confidence and courage. Yet none of these would be anything without curiosity and will power.
It is the love of life and the desire to know that draws me ever on.
- Confidence is the key to everything. Believe in you and your plans.
- Have a vision or aim. Even if it changes, keep it in mind.
- Remind yourself of your passion. What makes your heart sing?
- Try not to dwell on what could go wrong, there is a danger of manifesting it!
- Assertiveness over aggression, drive is important, the action of will.
