Madame Bowden tells Martha, "If you’re not scared, then you’re not living." What do you think she means by this statement?

Madame Bowden tells Martha, "If you’re not scared, then you’re not living." What do you think she means by this statement? Do you agree?

I felt that Madame Bowden is both comforting Martha (i.e.,others have felt the same way) and urging Martha to go outside her comfort zone to be energized and find a zest for living.

If you never go outside of your comfort zone, then you are just "existing." Taking a chance and either succeeding or failing is the dessert of life; who wants just salads and entrees?

sweeney asks "who wants just salads & entrees?" I DO! Hahaha. Seriously, I think it's totally fine to stay within one's comfort zone. There are always new things to see even in familiar settings, and the familiar can also bring great joy. While I agree that Madame Bowden was trying to encourage and support Martha, I don't agree with the sentiment.

I think she's referring to risk taking. No one gets through life without taking some level of risk throughout. After all, "nothing ventured, nothing gained..."

If you never leave your comfort zone - you’ll miss out on the beauty of life.

I love this statement! As someone who likes to tap into change and the unknown, this is my mantra. Change and new things are scary....but most often quite rewarding :)

Stepping out can be scary, takes courage. If you live your life in your own defined box, you don't step out to test the waters, then are you really living your life to the fullest? Likely not.

I think she means you are missing out on all the world has to offer. It’s so easy to stay on the same well worn path in life. Every thing is familiar and stable but you only grow, learn and stimulate your mind if you step outside the staid and familiar routine. Think of it as simply driving to work. If you take the same route every day then after a year due to construction you are forced to go a different route. What do you see you’ve not seen before? New shops? New neighborhoods? A new playground ? A bike route? Think of times you went to a favorite restaurant only to find it closed and hungry, ventured into one you had never tried. What was the result? It’s as simple as that. Magnify that into life and experiences and options and journeys and career choices and friendships and do on. There are many reasons Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken is so famous, that perhaps, is one of them.

Living a safe life is living a boring life and causing yourself to miss out on so much life has to offer. Living is always a risk, and you can't guard against every catastrophe anyway, so get the most out of what life has to offer you.

Sometimes you just have to take chances in order to achieve success. That’s life,isn’t it? Most risks are worth taking and if we find they were not, it then becomes a life lesson. You can’t sit and watch the world pass you by..that’s playing it safe. Sometimes what we think would be a big risk turns out to be not so big.