--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be alive is to take risks; to be…" description: "\"To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/edward-abbey-254_alive_to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-alway_2203739.png" --- # To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure… ![“To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/edward-abbey-254_alive_to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-alway_2203739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/edward-abbey-254_alive_to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-alway_2203739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/edward-abbey-254_alive_to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-alway_2203739.png) > “To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living fully means embracing risk; avoiding all safety leads to a stagnant existence. **In simple terms:** Taking risks is essential to truly live. Key Takeaway Embrace calculated risks. Themes risk life freedom Mood reflective provocative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - personal relationships - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism adventure Questions to Reflect On - What risks have you avoided that could enrich your life? - How do you assess when safety becomes stagnation? A Different Perspective Excessive risk can lead to unnecessary danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) ## Related quotes > [We want our streets and communities to be safe and secure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-britt/we-want-our-streets-and-communities-to-be-safe-and-secure/) [Katie Britt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-britt/) > [Of course, learning is strengthened and solidified when it occurs in a safe, secure and normal environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/of-course-learning-is-strengthened-and-solidified-when-it-occurs-in-a/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [“Opportunities pop up for everybody all of the time. It's the way that we progress. It's whether or not you're in the right frame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/opportunities-pop-up-for-everybody-all-of-the-time-it-s-the-way-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Yes, we \[USA\] can be safe and secure, if we stay on the offense against the terrorists and if we spread freedom and liberty… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/yes-we-usa-can-be-safe-and-secure-if-we-stay-on-the-offense-against/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I think all the president-elect is saying is that we have to be able to be - to keep ourselves safe and secure, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/i-think-all-the-president-elect-is-saying-is-that-we-have-to-be-able/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [It's an old adage that the way to be safe is never to be secure... Each one of us requires the spur of insecurity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-an-old-adage-that-the-way-to-be-safe-is-never-to-be-secure-each/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All of us will be more safe and secure if everyone fulfills their obligations the way they are supposed to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/all-of-us-will-be-more-safe-and-secure-if-everyone-fulfills-their/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Every human being needs to feel safe and secure in their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kether-donohue/every-human-being-needs-to-feel-safe-and-secure-in-their-life/) [Kether Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kether-donohue/) > [I think that we really fool ourselves about our ability to be safe and secure nowadays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-that-we-really-fool-ourselves-about-our-ability-to-be-safe/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Figure out what makes you feel safe and secure, and go out of your way to have that as often as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/figure-out-what-makes-you-feel-safe-and-secure-and-go-out-of-your-way/) Senoraroy > [I've been saying this for years: There is no longer such a thing as a safe and secure job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/i-ve-been-saying-this-for-years-there-is-no-longer-such-a-thing-as-a/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [New Hampshire elections are safe, secure, and reliable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sununu/new-hampshire-elections-are-safe-secure-and-reliable/) [Chris Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sununu/) > [I'm very happy, safe, and secure with television industry. I'm not over-ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kratika-sengar/i-m-very-happy-safe-and-secure-with-television-industry-i-m-not-over/) [Kratika Sengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kratika-sengar/) > [“WANT YOU TO KNOW how safe and secure you are in My Presence. That is a fact, totally independent of your feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-young/want-you-to-know-how-safe-and-secure-you-are-in-my-presence-that-is-a/) [Sarah Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-young/) > [The way to be safe is never to be secure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-way-to-be-safe-is-never-to-be-secure/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-always-safe-and-secure-is-death/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-always-safe-and-secure-is-death/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/edward-abbey-254_alive_to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-alway_2203739.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/edward-abbey-254_alive_to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-alway_2203739.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/edward-abbey-254_alive_to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-alway_2203739.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death.” — Edward Abbey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be alive is to take...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-always-safe-and-secure-is-death/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/to-be-alive-is-to-take-risks-to-be-always-safe-and-secure-is-death/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```