- S 1 Ep 24
Picard says this to Deanna after confiding in her about a huge favor a close friend of his had asked him. She points out that his friend was asking an awful lot of him, and this was his response.
I feel like this quote can be adjusted or rewritten to apply to a lot of things .What I mean is, the thing that sticks out most to me about this quote is the idea that one must be willing to take chances or they're hardly living. That may seem like a bit of a leap, but let me explain.
Don't all relationships require a bit of give and take? Doesn't being in a relationship at all force you to take risks? Friendship or otherwise, being close to someone at all requires you to allow people to see who you are which lays you at risk of being rejected for it. That sounds like a risk to me. My point is, life is made up of relationships and if you're not willing to risk people getting to know you, then how likely are you to risk anything else? Likely you'll just end up rotting in your bubble for the rest of your life.
Take it from someone who is still recovering from nervous illness; taking chances, no matter how scary or even painful they may be, it's always worth it. Picard speaks specifically of friendship here. Ever since I was little, my circle of friends has always been pretty small. I'm not saying this in the hope of getting pity because I happen to really like my friends. However, the reason I have always had so few is because I am naturally very guarded. It's really hard to get to know me because who I am isn't on the surface. You have to be willing to dig very deep and bey very patient if you want to be my friend. Why am I like that? Well, I guess it's basically that I don't trust people that easily. Letting people get to know me feels a lot like placing my heart in their hands, and I don't want to do that unless I know that I can completely trust them not to damage my heart. Maybe I have a fear of rejection too.
This isn't a trait that I'm particularly ashamed of, but it does make me sad sometimes. I know how awesome I am, but my guarded nature tends to make people treat me like I'm made of glass. Their caution to me is kindly meant, I know, but it always feels like I'm a dragon being staked to the ground so I can't fly when people do that. There have also been times that I wonder if I've lost the chance of having a good friend because I'm so paranoid, but who can really say?
At the end of the day, my favorite thing about this quote is the idea that taking risks can lead to something beautiful. A heart willing to take leaps of faith is one that I think will find the truest love. Sappy as that sounds, can you tell me of a relationship where domination, mistrust, and fear have kept it alive and happy? Love and friendship is scary, it requires a great deal of courage and trust. That, I think, is what makes it so wonderful. It's like magic. You may not fully understand it, but it can do amazing things. :)
I challenge all of us to "dare to risk". After all, "Seek and ye shall find". Maybe all we have to do to find such a relationship is look for it. Not just with our eyes, but with our hearts, and that requires action and that is when we must "dare to risk".
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