Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What Are You Afraid Of?



The words fill the brain as you go across the room, hands wet with anticipation, to ask a stranger to dance.
One of the earliest human encounters; struggled through with the fear of rejection and primed by peer pressure.
Some fear is learned from personal experience, while others are taught. Our religions are based on fear. Crime would be more prominent if not for the fear of reprisal.
But our species thrive on fear.
The adrenalin rush overcomes us as we survive an open railcar traveling on flimsy structures, so we can share the common experience with others. Movies packed with scenes of extraordinary happenings and characters created to scare the viewer, not to panic, but to present high anxiety.
Perhaps it is the thrill of the adventure and conquering it, or maybe when left to our own devices, we become bored with the mundane day-to-day existence.
Fear keeps us from touching fire, avoiding animals that would have us for dinner, and running away from danger, but is it a primeval instinct or a common sense reaction.
Do we fear going to the grocery store full of strangers who may be in every variation of mental and physical health, picking up packages handled by unknown hands, unaware of structural deficiencies of the structure and paying for the privilege to invade the space for a short period of time. Each person pushing a cart could be on the edge of personal conflict, yet we all congregate to choose sustenance.
Every day is an unknown to fear or cherish. If afraid of existence, withdrawal into a sanctum of paranoia spirals into the darkness and the darkness of night brings the blackness. As with other creatures, we rest our bodies until the sun awakes us from unimaginable thoughts and visions our minds produces in random selection.
Maybe the most fearful conclusion would not be outside, but inside our own being.



BOO!

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