Provided by Scherezade Ozwulo from Scherezade’s Labyrinth

*originally posted on Scherezade’s Labyrinth*

   You ever had a not so often mentioned concept become a hot topic once one person brings it up? Or The Universe has a topic it wants to have discussed because maybe, it needs to be addressed and it’s seen or heard relentless from just about everybody or everywhere?

   This is what I’m currently observing. It seems the word for this week is RISK. Before beginning, let me change out of my scrubs and nurse crocs for my favorite pair of running sneakers and sweater in true Mr. Rogers fashion. There that’s better. I’m so corny🙄 lol.

   Okay, the other day I penned a post about a dream involving a shark and the word LEAP being shouted at me. Last night or this morning depending on time zones lauravent69 posted this:

   Once I laid my eyes on this, I knew I needed it for something. With Laura’s permission (which she granted😁), I want to break down RISK using this visual aide.

Who was Jonah?

   Jonah was a guy who God gave the task of prophesying impending death to those unrepentant in the city of Nineveh (it was the whole city who needed to repent😔) but instead he decided to go continue his journey someplace not in Nineveh. Everytime the signs pointed him to go ➡️, Jonah went ⬅️. Sometime within his journey of the I Don’t Wanna Tour aka I Ain’t Doing it, or It Ain’t My Job, he was swallowed by a big fish. Three days and nights, he sat within this behemoth until he finally relented, offering up promise to do what was asked and God released (vomited up 🤢).

What is The Jonah Complex?

   Abraham Maslow, (the same psychologist also known for his Hierarchy of Needs) named the psychological condition where one destroys their chances at greatness out of fear, similar to the story of Jonah.

    “We fear our highest possibilities…We are generally afraid to become that which we glimpse in our most perfect moments, under the most perfect conditions, under the conditions of greatest courage. We enjoy and even thrill to godlike possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments. And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities.” (The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow) – via Academy of Ideas website http://academyofideas.com

   We want greatness, we desire to achieve something great yet when it becomes clear, we throw it away. The signs are pointing where to turn, yet, we turn the opposite direction. Anxieties creep in causing doubt and discourse, ultimately turning us from our goal.

   Jonah’s spirit man was called (if you’re Christian or a least been exposed, there is the concept of duality: our human self and our spirit man. A duality that is a constant fight.) yet his person contradicted causing him to run away from God. He ran away at a time when people were trying to run to Him (or at least shake His Hand). How many times have we seen a grand moment, the tingle in our bones, hands and feet itching with anticipation, visions of success flashing in our minds to think again and say nah, too risky? Or it’s not worth the trouble? We all have. I’m definitely guilty🙄, not gonna lie.

   What usually plays out in my head, is the shear embarrassment of screwing up. I also have a tendency to read people’s faces. As I’m talking, I’m also watching facial expressions; the only problem with this is I could be wrong about a person’s feelings. It’s a defense mechanism to keep from being embarrassed while in a person’s presence. Stop talking because they’re not interested. Simultaneously, I’m still embarrassed for even stepping outside myself to share anything at all. Why did I risk being open? Because there’s security in that moment which dictated it was okay to step out a little on that ledge, nothing’s going to happen. It was enough to spark bravery.

   Christians are supposed to not be fearful, yet we are. We’re supposed to be comfortable around each other but we aren’t. Risk in Christianity relates to faith. By “stepping out on faith” we’re a knowledging that our faith in the risk is more powerful than the result of taking said risk.

    “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?“ – James 2:14 NKJV

   We have to act in order to gain the benefit. King David the writer of Psalm 23 was the risk taker. He penned

    “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 KJV

   Maslow also said this:

    “If you deliberately plan to be less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be deeply unhappy for the rest of your life. You will be evading your own capacities, your own possibilities.” (The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Abraham Maslow)” – via Academy of Ideas website http://academyofideas.com

   I want greater it just takes some planning on my part. I can’t just rush into something halfway and expect to fall into place. That doesn’t work out for me. There are people who are against any risk taking. They live in the cushion of safe. Happy to never been anywhere, no hot sauce ever, you get the picture.

   By not taking any risks, we deny our happiness? Wow. Never thought of it that way. But there have been times, when I had an opportunity and got started on it, to fall back. Then I feel dumb for not seeing it through and a little jelly at the person who is now shining in my place. It’s not their fault, it’s mine because I was too fearful. I admit this because I’m trying to do better, I’m trying to grow but also it’s a genuine enotion in the grand scheme of emotions.

   As a non spontaneous risk taker, I have taken some calculated risk, but it’s alongside my husband. If an idea seems too big or detailed, I get anxiety and immediately shut down. Kareem (he’s the risk taker) comes up with a plan, giving me all the pros & cons and we make a decision to act together. It’s how we were able to grow as a couple. Over the course of our 15 year marriage, we’ve done things that require plenty of sacrifice to build us and now we have babes, there’ll be more risk involved to better their future.

    “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.“- James 2:17 NKJV

   Well…I think this is long enough. My heart poured on paper in a long rambling. It’s a risk for me to post this because it may not be received well or not even glanced at. But there was a drive for me to use the meme above in a writing and here it is. There was a reason lauravent69 posted it. There’s a reason for everything, sometimes explainable, oftentimes not but it doesnt always matter the reason, does it?

   It’s a risk I’m willing to take. 💝💝