“A ship in harbor
is safe,
but that’s not what
ships are built for.”
~ John A. Shedd

To read the title of today’s blog post, one might think I’m writing about the conclusion of last night’s San Francisco Giants’ home opener against the San Diego Padres. With the score tied at 2-2, Thairo Estrada’s double off the left-center field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning knocked-in the winning run and sent Giants fans home happy. Yes, it was a close play at the plate, but the home plate umpire immediately called the runner safe to end the game. With that said, today’s blog post is not about baseball.

It might be upsetting for some to acknowledge this, but leaving home and returning safely is an underrated blessing, something most of us take for granted. All too often, someone who wakes up, gets dressed for the day, grabs a bite to eat for breakfast, then heads out the door — to work, to school, or to run errands — is deprived of the opportunity to return home safely. For some, it’s a medical emergency. For others, it’s an auto- or work-related accident. And for a few, it’s an act of violence which prevents them from returning home at the end of the day. This is simply a reality of life.

Helen Keller reminds us, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Let the truth be told. While the chance that we will return home safely each day is very much in our favor, it cannot be denied that life is a daring adventure.

Does this mean that we should do what we can to avoid the possibility of some harm coming to us? This is an option, I suppose, but not one most of us would choose. Brazilian author Paulo Coelho offers a thought about this. He wrote, “If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it’s lethal.”

There is no doubt that life involves a level of risk, so it might be prudent to consider the word risk as an acronym: Responsibility, Insight, Safety, Knowledge. To live our lives in such a way that we integrate these four factors into everything we do, we can certainly minimize the risk of unexpected harm coming to us. Attentiveness to these factors is critical to our personal safety and well-being.

The words of a traditional Irish blessing are also comforting:

“May angels fly with you
wherever you roam
and guide you back safely
to family and home.”