"Do that thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain."
- Mark Twain
I
just found this quote on FB. It reminded me of the other day when I
took my kids to a Flea Market. One booth was selling blow up plastic
thingies (swords,
dolls and what not...). Since this booth belonged to a good friend of
mine, I told my kids they could each get one (to support her). My son
picked the big green alien blow up doll that stood taller than him.
Frankly, I was creeped out by it,
but it was his choice, so
we got it. By the end of the day, you'd have thought my son was Toy
Story's Andy and the alien was Woody. My kid spent all afternoon
with this alien. He gave him a shoulder ride. He might've even
given him a high five. They probably have a secret hand shake. That
night, when I went
to check on him after he had fallen asleep, the big green alien was standing nice and
close to my son's bed, keeping an eye on him. It was at this moment
that I felt proud of my son. I realized just how brave he was. Who puts a creepy alien
right next to their bed at night, a.k.a., who
stares fear in the face and says "Do your worst!"? My son does, that's
who! Maybe he claims to not be brave,
because the alien never creeped him out, but I know he's just being
modest. This alien creeps everyone out! My friend even apologized to
me as we made our purchase at her booth. And then I discovered a lesson
at that moment,
"What if we could go through life like this? Giving our fears shoulder
rides and inviting them to watch us while we sleep?" (this should not
apply to people who have a fear of robbers or tsunamis). For example, I
don't like chemicals. What if I grabbed
a bottle of weed killer and carried it around all day like it was my
little buddy. Or what if I put a bottle of Draino next to my bed at
night ,and glued
little google eyes on the bottle, and
then just let it stare at me while I slept at night? Or what if you
had a fear of poisonous spiders and you gave them
shoulder rides and let them sleep by your bed...actually I feel like
this lesson shouldn't apply to all fears. I would say if you have a
fear of nice puppies then this could be safe. Okay maybe this is a work
in progress... Until I figure it out, remember
what Mark Twain said, "Do
that thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain." And
also talk to a parent or trusted adult before you "do that thing
you fear most..." And also make sure that thing you fear is legal.
And if your fear is a real alien, I might not recommend facing that
fear.
