2.15.2008

What are you afraid of?

That's what it is all about. We manage the fear.
Courage is acting in the face of fear. Life is full of courageous acts. For some people, going out the door in the morning takes courage. Some people never make it out their door.
Death, food poisoning, spiders, failure, goats, what other people think of me, loneliness, deep water - all these things affect me. They are fears that shape my day.
I don't encounter goats too often, but when I do it is pretty tough to stand my ground. I avoid deep water - so that one is not too terrible.
I have to eat, so I think about the food poisoning thing every day.
Spiders - they are tiny so they can be anywhere. I overcome that fear through knowing what the scary ones look like. My apologies to spiders everywhere as any that are unidentifiable or borderline super scary die if I can't avoid them or if I think they might reproduce in my home.
Death, failure, loneliness - do we all fear these things?
Some people claim they have no fear of death - but is it just courage? Is it that they act in the face of death even though it is deeply terrifying? I sure think so - nothing revelatory about that though.
I guess it is interesting to see fear affect my life. When someone is afraid to love, or afraid to try, or afraid to eat out. . . . It is interesting to see fear shape my life.

I find myself wondering it about strangers on the street or new acquaintances - what are you afraid of.

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