virgin islands scene

If we could learn to like ourselves, even a little, maybe our cruelties and angers might melt away.
-- John Steinbeck
 

 

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Courage wins the day

Be careful, but not so careful that you avoid everything. Understand and manage risk, but don’t seek to entirely eliminate it.

Reasonable safety is a necessary and worthy goal. Yet excessive, compulsive safety can grind the world to a halt.

Life has always been a risky undertaking. Sometimes the risks outweigh the benefits, and plenty of other times the risks are worth taking.

Just because something bad might happen, doesn’t mean it will. And if the bad thing is survivable and even tolerable, and the potential benefits valuable enough, maybe that’s a risk you can live with.

There’s never any guarantee with any course of action that everything will go perfectly. If, however, you avoid the risk of taking action you’re guaranteed to also avoid the desirable results.

Take care, while also taking action. When the reward justifies the risk, courage wins the day.

— Ralph Marston

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