Fear Is Another 4-letter Word

The Exorcist was the last horror movie I've seen since high school. I decided after watching Linda Blair throw up, scary movies were not for me. After all, life is scary enough without adding make-believe to it.

But, isn't that what we do with fear? We create worst-case scenarios in our minds...and most don't ever come to pass. Yet, we live with these torturous thoughts plaguing us for much of our lives.

These days, especially, you can't get away from bad news--from Wall Street tanking to company layoffs to war in Iraq and terrorism hovering. And then there's cancer. What's a girl to do?

I need an angel to appear and say, "Fear Not!" But, then again, if an angel appeared, I'd freak out.

My fears and worries have worn me out. So, just for today, I'm going to take a deep breath, and put my faith where my angst is, and focus on my life at-hand, rather than all the scary, awful potential things that could happen. Because many scary, awful things have already happened in my life, and I have survived.

The reason I have endured many scary, awful things is because they are real -- and humans are designed to handle reality. Fear is not reality. It's a possibility that may never happen. And humans weren't designed to live with "what if?" but rather "what is."

I need to live with what is real and true. And what's true for today is that I'm alive and life is good for millions of reasons. That's what I need to focus on -- being grateful for all that I have been given, rather than worry about what might be. Because choosing worry over gratitude is a waste of life.