SECURITY

Only the insecure struggle for security. [Wayne Dyer]

We find security in the way things are. Food, shelter and sex to fulfill our need to survive, to carry our genes to the next generation, and to establish a basic sense of certainty. These are the two lowest levels of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs. And they matter. Without the security of these basic needs, it's difficult to progress towards the security of the higher needs of Belonging, Connections, People, Places, Recognition, and Fulfillment. So we pursue them with vim and vigor, passion and persistence. If we feel unsafe, we struggle to be secure. If we feel useless, we struggle to be valued. If we feel outcast, we struggle to be included.

At some stage in our journey toward these higher goals, we should resist the temptation to get everything settled. Absolute security is a static condition where nothing can happen to us. It's a denial of life itself. The cure for that condition is embracing the wisdom of finding peace in uncertainty. Opportunity knocks so often it has sore knuckles. If opportunity knocks on your door, will you open it or grab your pepper spray?