My recent drive along the rim of the Grand Canyon has made two things clear: (1) I need to prepare for the unexpected downgrades on the road by installing brakes to my trailer; and, (2) I am not ever going to be prepared for every curve along the roads I travel.
Life is unpredictable.
I am driving both car and trailer well within all parameters of safety that would be good enough for all of the ten million miles I might drive upon. But none of that matters when I come upon an unexpected 3000 feet downgrade that exceeds (even briefly) the safety parameters in dynamic motion between gravity and everything I'm driving.
In this recent scenario, I made it safely down the unexpected downgrade, but not without a hard lesson learned. I will be installing brakes onto the trailer...not because I need them for 99.99% of the driving I will do...not because I will use them every time I drive (because I won't...and may never even use them again)...but, rather, for the peace of mind that their installation will bring for the "just in case" I stumble upon another dangerous curve at the bottom of an unexpected sharp downgrade that just may save a life. But even that isn't going to eliminate the risk that I take every time I drive with this trailer...
There's only so much I can do to prepare for the unexpected...and, the rest is all about managing the risk.
I have a cousin who is off traveling the world, and her dad is urging her to come home becauae he is worried about her safety in a country experiencing political unrest. The truth is that she is probably at no more risk from harm there than anywhere else, but when local circumstances bring the risk to the surface, it gives the illision of more danger.
I think we need a healthy layer of denial in order to get up out of bed and face the invisible danger that lurks around every corner of this "civilized" urban jungle. Because the truth is that we live in a dangerous world no matter what geography we call home.
But, some risk can be mitigated, so that's what I'm going to do...which is what the hard lessons in life are all about. What we survive makes us stronger ONLY if we learn from what we've survived and apply it to our life...like a perpetual Ground Hog's Day...lol.
Living life is a risk I am willing to take, because living the illision of safety & security is (for me) a risk far more dangerous than anything I will do while I'm out traveling the world..
