"Walking a tightrope" is a metaphor often employed to describe the feeling of being in such a precarious position as to believe a fall one way or the other is imminent--with a set of circumstances each, respective of which rope-side the plummet occurs. Another way people describe this, perhaps with a finer point, is to say that they are on the "razor's edge."
Close your eyes. Combine the imagery from the two cliches. You might see a humorous scene play out where a man is treading the fine point of the edge of a massive razor, while holding a long balancing pole and subtly swaying back and forth; a life-long sea captain newly relegated to the land. But this scene is savage in the way it truly lacks in humor for those aboard that edge.
The abysses to either side of the edge have each their respective matrices of consequences, actions, decisions, paths, etc. To one side may be option A, to the other option B. The chasm to the left might be a yes, while a chasmic no stretches to the right. An I should; an I shouldn't. A helplessness; a hope. Trusts; doubts. The discrepancies between these is such a fine line, it often becomes desirous to rewind the words and actions that've made this perch list about: to and fro, up and down, this way and that.
Regrets become the mechanism of jostled footing.
Were it yourself, you would likely think, "If I can just make to the end of this edge, I'll be safe." But does anyone ever make it across that tender trail? Focus is piled upon focus to progressively tread ahead and what lies to each side encompasses all consideration; to the fault of ignoring the most dangerous outcome of all.
So--
Should you find yourself with balancing pole in hand, gingerly toeing down a razor's edge, seeping anxiety over tumbling from your perch toward one of the yawning darknesses to either side, remember the very nature of a razor:
There is another--often unspoken--way out...
You stumble and the razor cuts you through.
