I listened to Parker Palmer giving this commencement address to the graduating class at Naropa University, and several times I got goose bumps and shivers. For me, those have become telltale signs that there’s something important and/or very true being said/shared.

The six suggestions Parker provides on living a life worth exploring are simple. And powerful. So powerful I feel an urge to split this recommendation into six consecutive blog posts.

The first suggestion is: Be reckless when it comes to affairs of the heart.

He urges us all to fall passionately in love with life. And to go boldly, not fearing the vulnerability that is a certain companion when living a life worth living. When we give of ourselves, there will be times when we risk getting hurt. But the alternative, of holding back, of not giving of ourselves, of not letting that happen through me, that is mine to give the world. That’s just too sad to even contemplate.

So – go out there, and be reckless. Love. Live. Create! Because if you are anything like me, you are more afraid of regretting what wasn’t done rather than that which was done, when lying on your death bed. Or?