Tag Archives: fears

Tsunami Evacuation Route

July 19, 2015 cinser Leave a comment

Photo taken in Alaska by Tawnya McDonald

We often wonder how people live peacefully in an area with a high likelihood of natural disasters. Yet we all face the possibility of disasters every day. Some of us admit the potential of catastrophic life occurrences, some ignore them, and others fixate on them. We may choose to live in what we believe is a safe environment, one usually devoid of floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes, but the potential always exists for something to go wrong, for things to not be the way we wish they were. We are not in charge of the elements of our lives be they geological or personal. What we can choose is how we live each moment until things explode, implode, or not. Will we hunker in anticipatory fright? Will we stockpile self-selected or fanatically-recommended provisions? Rail against the unfairness of life? Fear what has not yet transpired? Mourn what we still possess? Or, will we choose to savor and celebrate our current steps in the dance of life?

Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft

April 2, 2015 cinser Leave a comment

Do they shoot you if you go too fast? What else could the sign mean? It’s poorly worded and yet we are so quick to jump to the worst possible meaning. This happens all the time. Whenever words are involved. Whenever the stakes are high or appear to be high. We aren’t sure what the words we are hearing mean, so we choose the worst-case scenario. The darkest, scariest, oh-God-not-that meaning we can imagine. Why do we do this? Is it to protect ourselves from being blindsided by something terrible when we choose to hope for the best? Do these types of situations let lose other fears and dormant out-of-control feelings we thought were securely shackled and shoved deeply into the basements of our souls? And then we laugh. As if to say, no one would shoot at us from planes. That’s just silly. Ridiculous even. We hope it is. We agree with a shrug and a nod, to label this possibility, this horror story in the making as something that would never happen in our world. Our safe, predictable world. We tell each other this is what is true. We almost believe it.

Merge

August 19, 2014 cinser Leave a comment

My son gets annoyed when a car in front of us on the on-ramp of the highway comes to a complete stop instead of merging into traffic. He points out that the sign says merge not stop. That doesn’t keep quite a few drivers from braking or slowing to a crawl. Are they afraid? aggressive? hesitant? overly cautious? fool-hearty? oblivious?

Merging onto the highway requires the driver to accelerate into the flow of traffic without causing an accident. It is recommended that you increase your speed to match that of the traffic into which you are merging. In other words, the merging vehicle should be going the same speed as the stream of drivers on the highway. The goal is to become part of the flow, not to interrupt it or to become overwhelmed by it.

Where else do we attempt to merge in life? How good are we at maintaining the integrity of who we are when attempting to join a flow presented to us. Do we harm ourselves or others with our timidity or aggression? Why not choose to enter hopefully? Put a little joy in the passenger seat. Drive with purpose and intention. Even if you are afraid. You can always take the next off-ramp.

One Way Do Not Enter

August 11, 2014 cinser Leave a comment

While it’s true you aren’t supposed to go the wrong way, as in against traffic, on a one-way street, you are still permitted to enter as long as you choose a legal entry point. You can also enter where it tells you not to, but there will be consequences, including the possibility of bodily harm.

Many times our inner voice tells us not to enter. It might whisper a doubt or shout a warning. This can make us question our choice to enter. But the best response isn’t always to simply walk away. Sometimes our inner wisdom is telling us to go ahead, to move forward physically or mentally but to do it from a different entry point