It started with a simple question, “What are the sirens on the side of the highway for? Tornados?
We don’t have Tornados here?
Hurricanes?
We don’t have those either.
Earthquakes?
No, we’ve lived here for seven years and never felt one.
Then what are they for?
High Surf – it tells us when it isn’t safe to walk on the beach… The avalanche of fears continued, forcing his little imagination to create escape plans, survival techniques, and new building codes. Fear left to the imagination is impossible to corral.
I didn’t dare tell this six year old about the nuclear power plant just a few miles away and if we ever hear those sirens we will toast the psychedelic sunset and melt into eternity, he had enough on his plate.
Six, sixty or eighty-six, fear will always be with us. I will refer once again to Dr. Who from whence comes great wisdom. As I watched the end of an episode titled Listen, I wiped the tears as I reached for the remote to rewind. The second go, I sat up straight with kleenex in hand, and by the third, I was kneeling in front of the screen. I heard something that spoke deep within, something that grabbed my soul and screamed “pay attention!”
So, please listen…
This is just a dream, but very clever people can hear dreams, so please just listen. I know you’re afraid, and being afraid is alright. Didn’t anyone tell you – fear is a super power? Fear can make you faster and clever and stronger.
If you are very wise and very strong, fear doesn’t have to make you cruel or cowardly, fear can make you kind.
It doesn’t matter if there’s nothing under the bed, or in the dark, so long as you know it’s okay to be afraid of it.
So listen, if you listen to nothing else, listen to this. You are always going to be afraid, even if you learn to hide it. Fear is like – a companion, a constant companion always there, but thats okay, because fear can bring us together – fear can bring you home.
Fear makes companions of us all.