Squirrels woke me up this morning. Their screeching, chattering and acorn throwing was just too much to sleep through. The thing is, I like to sleep in my van when I stay with friends. And Bonnie’s driveway is shaded by a huge oak tree. Acorns hitting the metal roof started the morning. Squirrels spotting Bonnie’s three cats watching them harvesting nuts keyed the screeching. Whether warning or angry commentary, the squirrels have good reason to scream. There have been days I’ve wakened to dead squirrels in the driveway. Bonnie’s cats are GOOD hunters. Death abounds for birds and critters of all kinds. Yet, it never stops the parade of wildlife through her yard.

For animals, risk is part of life. For humans too. Predators are a small but very real part of the risk of all of our lives. That’s why I travel with a Rottweiler. I avoid bad neighborhoods and obviously dicey situations, park in secured areas and pay attention to my surroundings and my intuition. So far, other than the occasional drunk or hitch hiker hassling me for a ride at rest areas or truck stops, I have only been seriously hassled and threatened by the police.

So yes, there’s a risk from predators. But I’m willing to accept that. It’s not much more than the risk each of us takes when we step out into the world every day. For the nine women gunned down in a health club, to the men and women killed by drunk drivers or bad doctors or car accidents….physical risk is part of life. We’re willing to talk about it, fear it, petition for the government to take action to reduce it. But we ignore the biggest risks to our health and safety - ourselves.

I’ve given up drinking soda. I’m walking every day and drinking water and eating breakfast. I’m looking at the biggest risk to me - the lack of self-care. I listen to people and look around me and see that most of us see threat as something that happens outside of us. But we work too long, ignore our health, don’t get enough rest or sleep or exercise and we don’t eat right. Guilty as charged here. So part of this trip is taking time to take care of myself. It means eating better, exercising, sleeping, napping, and smelling the flowers. It means destressing and finding the things in life that matter to me. You don’t have to move into a van to do the same, but take time this week to think about it. Your risk isn’t from the scary stuff the media throws at you. You’re much more likely to have a heart attack than to be mugged and murdered. While it’s easier to blame a violent world, look within for the real threat.