Adsense leaderboard

Monday, June 18, 2012

What if?


Sassy Cat used to be fearless.  She used to stand up to dogs and if a cat got too close, a well aimed swipe of her paw usually took care of ‘em.  About two weeks ago something happened though.  I don’t know what.  I just know that it happened at night and that the Sassy Cat I knew and admired was no more.  She is now afraid…of everything.

Fear is a disease.  It can cripple lives and stunt growth of happy personalities.  If left uncheck, well, it’s not pretty.  It is the reason we stay in relationships we know are doomed.  We are afraid to leave.  We are afraid to try something new.  We can’t quit our hated jobs because we are afraid to look for something else.  We are afraid we won’t find something else.  We don’t move to a new place because we are afraid.  We are afraid of the unknown and of change.

Yet, change is inevitable and unavoidable.  We must be able to grow with change and adapt or we fail to thrive.  We have to accept that we will make mistakes, but we learn from mistakes and grow wiser…more savvy.  I am working with Sassy everyday to restore her sense of balance in the world, but it will be tough.  For me, the biggest fear is the “what if” syndrome.  I don’t have fear of change.  I like challenges.  What I don’t want to do on my death bed is have regrets about those things that I was too afraid to do.  I don’t want to wonder how my life would have turned out if I hadn’t been too afraid to do the things I was too afraid to do.