Danger

Have you ever daydreamed about living life a completely different way than you are right now? That question is ridiculously rhetorical as I suspect everyone does from time to time. The sad sinful wordly part of me occasionally wishes I could just be bad. I don’t want to always be bad, just spend a night or a weekend throwing caution to the wind and acting on every impulse.

There is one characteristic that a portion of me wishes I could possess. It isn’t always a bad thing, but can be, that characteristic is of course: dangerous. If I could live life over again, I think I would be a little more dangerous. I know I could probably change now, but most likely will not. In fact, I am tremendously far from dangerous. I am G rated, I am cautious, I am responsible… I am the battle equivalent of a Nerf gun.

Think about most of the famous men through history or even in movies. They are passionate, charismatic, confident, but I also think they are dangerous. Sure dangerous could be a bad thing when you consider someone to be reckless or unstable, but most often, having an appropriate amount of danger in a man’s personality is desirable. It is the danger that makes them exciting, that shows their strength, that makes them protective. It is the danger that makes a guy a man.

Part of me thinks a man that is dangerous is a man I wouldn’t want to mess with because he is willing take whatever action necessary to protect himself and those around him, but that isn’t always the case. I man can be passive and dangerous. I would say Gandhi was dangerous. He was strong willed and a threat to those in power. Civil disobedience certainly requires a significant amount of risk. I also think a man of integrity is a dangerous man. He is willing to stand for what he knows to be right and honorable regardless of consequence.

I think my life is a little too fluffy. The risks are managed too much. That is why I like to do some crazy things from time to time such as building a cannon. Danger is certainly something I hope to instill in Wes as he grows up. If he is the right amount of dangerous when he grows up, then I would have done my job as a father. In fact, adventure is by far the most exciting thing I look forward to in having a son. I can’t wait to take him out into the woods, down a river, or up a mountain. I want him to step into the batter’s box and not be afraid of getting hit by the ball. I want him to skate as hard as he can into the corner for a puck without worrying about the size of his opponent skating against him. I want his team mates to think he is crazy and put him out there for that very reason. I want the other team to be afraid when he is out there, to move back toward the fence, or have to double cover him. I want poker players to be afraid to sit to his right. Ok, so these are things I want for myself, but don’t know if I will achieve them. I do want to be dangerous. Now I just need to figure out how to implement that plan.

Thank you for reading.