Fear is dumb. Wasting all your time being afraid is dumb. Sometimes people tell me that I am brave for travelling alone. They are wrong. It's easy to do something daring when the choice is made by Past You. Sorry, Future Me, but I already bought your plane tickets! In reality, I am a very fearful person and it's dumb. People are sometimes fool enough to think that I am brave but it is just because I'm not afraid of things that other people are afraid of. I am, however, afraid of stupid shit like talking to people. I actually decided that I would rather starve (for a meal) than talk to a food-selling person. What the heck. It's the most idiotic thing I ever heard. Sometimes I did manage to get frustrated enough with myself to force myself to face my fears and buy food from a person or go to a restaurant alone, but somehow it didn't make facing people any less scary. whatever.
I'm not really sure how to stop being so afraid. Probably it involves facing your fears more than once. If I can, I would like to teach My Future Kids not to be afraid. Or at least to teach them not to let their fears cripple them. I want them to feel so absurdly safe that they feel like they can do anything. I want them to feel so absurdly safe that they /can/ do anything.
This seems like an appropriate time to include the litany against fear from Dune
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
