I’ve been thinking a lot about fear the last few years. I see it in the news, in relationships with people; it’s prevalent on a daily if not hourly basis. When I was growing up I was raised on it. Don’t be out after dark or someone will abduct you. Don’t go into that part of town, it’s dangerous and you’ll be mugged. Don’t travel to foreign countries, the people there are savages! That religion is full of suicidal fanatics. That vehicle is dangerous. A whole life built around not doing things due to the potential consequences. Of course, it only takes one bad thing to hit the media and everyone is talking about it. The victim? Oh, they should have known better than to ‘go there’ or ‘do that’. Never mind that a million people went there and did that without incident. Statistically we are in the safest time to be alive than every before. Not everywhere; war still scars our planet as those who have, think they need to have more. Religion still poisons the minds of people who seem to forget the very purpose of religion is peace and caring for your fellow man. Unless you’re Conan and worship Crom.

I’ve lived a life of getting away from fear, not letting it affect my interactions. Do bad things still happen to me? Yes. That’s called living and dealing with ‘bad’ things makes you more comfortable with dealing with bad things. Tragedy is inevitable, people are doing to die. Accidents, natural deaths, we don’t live forever and that really chaffs my hide. I don’t care to be burdened with sadness from fear related things I didn’t do. I am making every effort, and admittedly falling short, to stay optimistic right now. Times are rough, unemployed, no savings, staring a huge lifestyle change in the face; I can’t ignore what’s coming. I can choose to react to it in a non-fearful manner. I don’t need to succumb to despair, however tempting it is. So I continue to write, continue to do the things that do ‘bring me joy’ as I can and work to improve my lot. As I look ahead and behind I see things without rose colored glasses and plan accordingly.

Last night I was out typing and got an earful from a friend of mine. I mentioned I had lost my job and was feeling pretty down and he wasn’t having any of it. It was a good pep talk, a call to reality and, perhaps, what I was doing wrong to deal with it. It helped. I don’t have to look forward or be happy about the changes, but folding up and fearing them is no way to live. Ultimately we are here to live, time is the only resource we have and nothing happening to me is taking my time away from me. He shared a few troubles of his own and how he was coping. All around me are people coping with their own wars I know nothing about. What we have in common is we are all still here. Just coping along together. It set a good mood as I was at the start of my evening and the typing went fabulous, I wrote some tough passages and hope some of the characters make it through their situations okay. Writing has always been a joy for me, in a great session, like last night, I am more reading what I’m putting down than writing it. You know how you get carried away in a good story? It’s that only I create it and see where it ends up. I stop when I run out of patience to type, even if I want just one more paragraph. Like I said, all things end.