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My Friend Fear
“A man need not fear death, but rather never
beginning to live.”--Marcus Aurelius.
Fear wears
a bad reputation,
since most of us
have learned
that to be fearful
of something,
and reveal it
to others,
is a sign of
weakness
and cowardice--
but the truth
is that fear
is our friend;
albeit hyperactive,
and often
somewhat
illogical.
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub Q44
14 comments:
Yes. Very perceptive. Fear in the right circumstances keeps us alive.
Ah, yes. I am familiar with this "hyperactive, illogical" friend. Love this, Glen.
Fear can be a friend when it causes us to avoid overly dangerous situations. For example, I'm terrified of driving at night with no headlights and wearing a blindfold, so I'm not going to do it. ;)
Oh Glenn, this is great. But we must be careful not to let everyone know that our friend fear is hyperactive, and often somewhat illogical - they might give it Ritalin!.
I really like good old Marcus' quote, there. And the poem seems so balanced. Fear is an emotion and like all emotions, it comes down to what we do with it.
Fear does provide us with a warning which might be realistic or might not. Perhaps better safe than sorry.
A healthy fear can sure save your butt. I wonder how I lived past 40
In humor there is much wisdom as well as entertainment.
Oh this is another way of looking at fear.
The quotation is a really good one. Some fears are indeed good....they can slow us down so we don't have gut reactions....they can be protective. Some can be very rational indeed. The trick is to keep living within the fear, right? Excellent take on the prompt.
Thank you for reminding us that fear in moderation can be a good thing. The key of course, is moderation! Well written, Glenn!
I think fears that come out in dreams can be very illogical and hyperactive. Once I started carrying a big stick, they've calmed down. Ha ha!
I like this reflection on fear and how social taboos limit open expression.
Wise words.
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