Fear

It misguides us; it alters our perception of what may be nothing but absolutely ordinary. It causes our minds to widen and our imagination to deepen. It can turn the once pastoral pounding of your heart into something diabolical in an instant and make our body perspire as if it were Niagara Falls itself. It can send misguided sign after misguided sign only to find what you thought was a velociraptor trapped inside your mind was really just a mouse with a mask. It can make the smallest crack on the pavement instantly become as big as the Grand Canyon, or turn the most wide open spaces into nothing. It is fear and if you don’t have control over it, it will control you. 

 

I can remember as a kid, one of the first things I was scared of was an old fictional character by the name of Captain Hook, I was terrified of him. Trying to overcome those fears I would watch all of the Peter Pan episodes I could until I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. It was silly but it made me realize that fear could be temporary. I only had a fear of something for as long as I was willing to hold onto it. It’s said that a life without fear isn’t much of a life at all. We all have fears, and we all fear it is part of us being human. It’s part of being normal. However there is a line, a much defined line between fear driving you, and you driving fear. And somewhere between these lines are the silver linings of fear.

Fear can be beautiful. It can fuel the body with courage. Courage can take those once diabolical heart beats and turn them into a skydiving free-fall. Courage is what humans need, and it just so happens fear is the only way to secure it. It’s easy to be scared, it’s easy to give up, or never try because you have fear. What’s hard is to step beyond that feeling of fearfulness, to reach into that feeling, and grab the courage to try something new, to step outside of your boundary and risk what you have for the absence of feeling safe, to enjoy life.

It creates us; it’s a failed opportunity or your greatest moment. It’s a forgotten memory or a picture in a photo book. It’s the look of city lights, or the inside of your eyes just before night. Its courage and it will define you.

Reviews

[747]

Well put, my friend. And isn't that the God's honest truth...

This I an interesting piece, because it is structured as an essay, labeled as a story, and has the rhythmic quality of a poem. I enjoyed this. The subject is all too true; which makes it very relatable.

Great work.