fear

 Oh boy, it has been a long time since I last wrote on here! So dang much has happened, that it's crazy! With graduation and job stuff going on right now, as well as some family that has been in less than decent health (and spending time in the hospital, as a result), things have been super crazy! Crazier than a man who's decided to drive a smart car in a crash derby!

All of these new experiences have brought me back to a place that I haven't been in a long time. I've recently been brought back to a place of true fear, in my life. However, thinking on it and trying to decipher why these fears have been brought back up has played a major part in the process of overcoming them.

Fear, as a human emotion, is natural, right? It's been around just about as long as we can remember. Since day one, essentially. Fear has helped us, in many ways, with our survival, our neurological growth, and our growth as a society. Fear is viewed by some as a force of power, which can help us push through times of strife and sorrow. However, fear is not always a good thing.

Yes, I know it sounds a bit elementary to point out that fear is bad, but that doesn't make it any less true, or any more obvious to most people. A lot of us humans let our fears control us, diminish us, and silence who we are truly meant to be. Fear is such a powerful force, that it even convinces us of its logic, sometimes. It makes us think that turning back, or taking different path, would be beneficial. It tells us that maybe trying to become whoever it is that we're meant to be would ultimately end in failure.

Fear is such a convincing liar, that we fall for its trickery and step further and further away from what's inside us. Fear turns us into hateful, ignorant, and selfish people. We hurt the ones we love with our fear, and we tear down bridges built with others when we let fear control us. It doesn't have to be this way, though.

We, as humans, have the ultimate choice in this situation. I know that I certainly find myself forgetting that, time and time again. We can choose to ignore our fear, when it's obviously irrational. We can overcome our fear by simply understanding it, and shutting it up for good. Fear can crumble at the very simple, yet so complicated choice to ignore it. It'll take some effort at first, trust me, but it will eventually become a reflex. Just try to imagine a life free of fear's poisoned words.

That life sounds rad.