'Who Dares, Wins'?

Living life entails risk, as noted by many others before. When we look at history, literature, the arts, the world around us, we do not administer our attention to those who live complacently. We admire those who dare to live. To those we sympathize with, we are delighted by their success, mourn for them in their failure, and scold them in their mistakes. If the arts are a window into the human soul, there is no doubt to the presence of risk no matter where one looks.

We humans are social creatures. No matter the situation, we are involved in some form of interaction with our surroundings, anything from other humans to a rock. Friends are crucial to that interaction. We dare when making friends, in deciding to trust in them, or anything else for that matter. It is not the fact that you dare, but how you dare. Complacency is daring too, and so is loving, hating and more.

The truth is risk, as well as lies. In every action we do, we are daring to form our character. Look around you; look into your past, look into your future in the making. Your fate, a good portion of it, is the result of what you have done with your choices at hand, as well as how you handle your fate. Yes, there is the factor of outside interaction, beyond your control. But all that affects is the portion of fate which you make for yourself.

People dare to live their lives because they know that if they dare in backing away from any risks or stepping on toes, they'll find themselves steeped so deep in mediocrity living unfulfilled lives according to whatever lofty desires which they subscribe to. Even if they fail in daring thus, they are assured by the fact that they Dared rather than stepped away from the gauntlet thrown in front of them. And that, as far as my inexperienced youth knows, is far better than the decay of complacency, and wondering what more could have been done later down the road.

"Who dares, wins." This is the motto of England's premier special operations unit: the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. They are at the peak because they know the truths of their motto; they stay at the peak because they still find the strength to dare even when the odds are stacked against them. That motto points out the foundation of a unit feared and respected for their skill and sheer audacity. The other pillar to the foundation of their reputation is the refinement of their instincts down to where they are able to decide the time and place to dare. This combination on an individual basis is what forms an individual destined by their own two hands to great heights. It is that spirit of audacity which guides daring men and women to victory in anything they have the zeal to do.

Audacity, audacity, always audacity. Tempered by skill and a sense of timing the results are limitless. None of the three qualities are independent of each other; they're all reliant of each other. It's your instinct and your intestinal fortitude in the end which makes or breaks it all.

And what of the other half of the saying, "Who dares, wins"? How does one define winning? Is it defined by the direct result of one's actions, or through what pops up later down the road? Perhaps a mixture of both. Even if no direct results can be found in daring, the lessons you gain from your mistakes are just as valuable down that winding road of life.

This is not to say that you will always be alone in your ventures, although it very frequently is the case. There may be those who wish to help you, but they cannot do one iota to help you unless you dare to make that first step forward. You must be willing to help your self with that first step before anyone else is able to do anymore to help you. You must dare to rise up in order to improve your condition. Once you take that first step, the rest gets easier as you go. But you must dare with that first step. Only then can you overcome obstacles.

Know that line, "'Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."? That's the daring I'm talking about, dear reader.

Disagree with me to the desire of all your hearts; but think slowly about it at first. But don't let me be the cause of your loitering in thought. 'Cause there's a life out there, ready for you to live to its limits.

Your daring willing, that is.

-Nam Chanh Ho