Life is risk. Not risking feels safe, but is it really? How can you feel safe if you’re stuck in the same place, the identical rut, year after year? If a Koala never left the tree it was born in, it would run out of leaves. It would die. Sometimes you can choose change in your life. Sometimes change comes to you, unbidden, maybe unwanted. What will you do with it? Will you fight it? will you resign to it? how will you react? Yes, there can be uncertainty in change. There is a feeling of a loss of control. Health challenges are a main source of change in everyone’s life: a strained muscle, an operation, a loss of mobility, etc. In most of those situations there are medical blessings, such as medication or surgery, that can aid us. We wait for recovery. At times, medical intervention is not enough so we have to face loss. I was told once that stress is neutral but our response is not. We are able to choose our response. We can focus on the negative: the fear, being out of control, having no knowledge of the future or if this will be permanent. We can focus on the positive: trying new things, meeting new people, an entirely new way of living. Focus: that is the point. Sometimes it is enough to deal with life moment by moment or day by day. Are we promised more than today? But it is also profitable to dream, to have a vision, to look toward the future. It is possible that you have no way to change your life…today. Maybe dreams are out of your reach right now. Does someone believe in you? Grab on to that belief and hold it close to your heart. Fears will come and go. When negativity comes, take a moment to focus, to breathe, to regroup. Evaluate where you want your thoughts to be. Take your thoughts captive instead of letting them rule you. Choose for yourself. In this moment, who do you want to be? Try making a list of whatever length you want: ideas or hopes, even just things you like about yourself. Think outside of your current situation. Like a breath of fresh air, it might impact your mood. Risk is fearful. It is also an opportunity. Choose for yourself.