Risk is endemic in human affairs. To say to someone "I love you" or to say in church "I believe" can never be risk-free undertakings. They are to make investments in things that are not fully under one's control. The other person may not love you back. The God in whom you stake your trust may turn out not to exist. The French philosopher Pascal famously attempted a metaphysical hedge with regards to the existence of God. He argued that if believers are right about God's existence, then they have gained everything. But if they are wrong about it, they have lost nothing. It's an attempt to eliminate risk from believing. But, like the risk avoidance strategies of investment banks, where you invest your heart and your soul can never be risk free. All commitment, whether it be financial, emotional or religious, is subject to the possibility of failure. That's life. And indeed it may well be that the attempt to eliminate risk from life can, in extreme forms, become an attempt to eliminate life itself.
adj. 风土的,地方的
n. 地方病,风土病