Chris Writing Anything

What fears have you overcome and how?

When I look back at my life, especially my childhood, I feared plenty. There were things like riding a two-wheel bike, diving off the high-dive and going to the doctor that really intimidated me. Probably my worst childhood fear, and it’s very common, was my fear of the dark.

Being raised in an old farmhouse, and trying to sleep in that structure, I was exposed to tons of unidentifiable creaks and moans. What was worse, our barn, with the lights off, and sheltering cattle, could be unsettling at night. The casual clinks of stanchions, combined with cattle’s low utterances, eerily echoed through the barn. And in the pitch black, nervously aware of a ton of makeshift weapons lurking about, I raced for the door, even if I couldn’t see two feet in front of me,

I tried to keep my fear a secret, hoping no one would think I was a chicken. However, I know my parents were well aware. In fact, since, at my young age, the boogeyman seemed a very viable threat, my parents decided to remedy my phobia. So, in an effort the curb my irrational fears, I was given a novel.

I loved it.

And every supernatural occurrence, I’m referencing the book of course, anyways, every boogeyman moment had a very logical explanation. I remember a blue ghost, one that turned out to be a a bedsheet with iridescent paint. At first, it scared the dickens out of me. When I had learned what it was, and how harmless that ominous sight really had been, I began to understand that knowledge will always usurp superstition and sensationalism.

Yet, despite that knowledge, and a longing for a life beyond the tangible, my mind would sometimes default to paranoid fears. Although, those instances were not as common. Today, that fear doesn’t exist anymore. Yes, sometimes, I’ll hear a noise and be wary of a potential break-in. Yet those moments are far and few between.

It took a while however. I remember reasoning a noise was simply a settling floorboard, or a moan was the wind slightly shifting the house. In the summer, when front doors would be open, along with large picture windows, sometimes the house doors would slam shut…without anyone near them, It took a ton of rationalizing, but , of course, I knew it was a gust of shifting wind…it was still spooky though.

Anyways, conquering fear, I think any fear, has to do with grasping reality and having a sense of rationalization. That said, sometimes having God on your side is a boost.

Enjoy your night!