One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked.

One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked. – Chinese Proverbs

"Did ya see the size of the Meatballs? I'm scared that I might choke!" Perhaps you could cut them into smaller portions and enjoy life.

What does that mean?
To me, this speaks to fear – a fear that paralyzes, a fear that stops us dead in our tracks.  What would happen to us if we were to stop eating?  You’d die pretty soon thereafter, right?  But there is always a chance you will choke, even die, each time you eat.  But eat we must, so eat we do (say it in a Yoda voice).

The same can be said of crossing the street. You could get hit by a bus (or a car or a delivery rider or a taxi or…). So do you stay indoors all day? Or do you learn to live with some level of risk and do your best to enjoy your life? I know which choice is right for me, but we all have different levels of comfort with risk, and must make our own decisions.

Why is living despite fear important?
Well, in most cases, living beats the alternative.  So, we work on keeping alive as best we can.  You could get killed by an insect bite, but you still go outdoors.  You could contract a fatal illness with each breath we take, but you still breathe.  Same with water.  How about everyone’s favorite “you could get killed crossing the street”?

There are a million ways to die, but are you willing to live?  Yes, by all means, take precautions.  Look both ways before crossing the street, know in which countries you can safely drink the water, cut your food small enough to not choke on it.  Live life.

Where can I apply this in my life?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve done some silly stuff.  Crazy bicycle crashes.  Sliding cars sideways on public highways at full speed.  Climbing trees, rocks, walls, buildings and more.  Even jumping out of perfectly serviceable aircraft.  Some of these things were done for fun, adventure and the like.  Others just happened.  Some were the brashness of youth, others were calculated risks to test myself.  I spend most of my day in front of a computer, so I try to live a little when I’m not glued to the keyboard.

What do you do?  Some people do things I think are crazy, and do them for a living.  People who work in unfinished tall buildings, for one.  People who run towards burning buildings, for another.  I’m sure to them, it’s just another day of work.  To me, it would be quite an adventure.  Similarly, jumping out of an airplane probably strikes a few of you as something just shy of suicidal.

I try to challenge myself and my fears a few times a year.  I do things that an old guy like me probably shouldn’t be doing.  Cartwheels, for instance.  My wrist is still recovering, but I can now do cartwheels.  Did I have a fear of cartwheels, no.  But I was beginning to worry that my physical robustness and coordination were beginning to decline.  So I pushed back.

What are you afraid of, what do you fear?  That could be, as it was for me, a fear of loss of competence, more so than a fear of heights or of falling (or the sudden stop at the bottom).  How can you confront that fear and push it back?  Very few people are actually afraid of food, or of choking to death (although a fish bone stuck in the throat can be a traumatizing experience).

How many things can you list?  Really, write them down.  At least three.  Now, for each one, how can you confront that fear?  Note, this isn’t about overcoming the fear, but facing the fear.  So for a fear of heights, the observation deck of a tall building (or even the balcony on a second story) can be used.  Approach the edge, on your hands and knees, if need be.  If people look at you funny, tell them you’re afraid of heights and are confronting your fear, and ask them what they’ve done to confront their fears lately.

Bring a friend or two for moral (and perhaps, physical) support.  Look over the edge.  Not straight down, but just out over the edge.  When the vertigo stops, look a little down, then more down.  Hold on for dear life, if need be, but look.  Stay behind the wall, don’t climb over the railing or fence, but look down.  Confront your fear, and survive.  Next time, it will be easier.

Find another thing that you fear, and do it.  Keep safety in mind, but don’t stop.  Pretty soon, you won’t fear much of anything.  Now you’re really living your life, not living what little portions of life that don’t get too close to the things you fear.  How badly do you want to live, really live?  Confront your self-imposed fears, your self-imposed limits.  Take up jogging at 50.  Do your first marathon.  Take up Chess or Go.  Learn that Gravity follows laws, and if you don’t break the law, you’ll be just fine.

Like the T-Shirt says: “if you aren’t living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.”

From: Twitter, undocumented feed (my bad)
confirmed at: http://www.famous-proverbs.com/chinese.htm (about 1/4 of the way down)
Photo by jshj