The year-long TV experiment was, in my opinion, one of the ultimate reality shows: dumping a group of people in mid-winter onto a remote Scottish island with the goal of being self-sufficient. Pretty harsh stuff! This is the poem that was read at the end of the programme by one of the castaways, Toby. Whether you've heard of Castaway or not, you’ll probably still be touched by this.
Risks
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk being called sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self.
To place your ideas and your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naïve.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair, to try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.
Chained by his certitude, he is a slave; he has forfeited his freedom.
Only the person who risks is truly free.
