The Holes Inside

What if there was a person whose love was like a cancer? An emotional vampire whose only way to survive was to kill the person they most cared about?

The Importance of Being Angry

When I was graduated high school, my parents presented me with a tiny green pocket version of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Graduates." I read through it all in a hour (it is a small book) and several times again over the following weeks and months. It had a lot of good pieces of advice in there. But as years have passed and I lost my copy in moving, I can only remember piece of advice because it resonated with me so much at the time.

The Happiness Equation

     On Sunday, I went on a hike with my husband, daughter, and niece. It was a little bit overcast, and as we ascended the mountain, we reach a low-lying cloud. The trail was relatively quiet, the forest was thick with trees and greenery and with the cloud mist all around, it looked like an enchanted forest full of magic and possibility. It's the kind of beautiful scenery that makes the Olympic peninsula good for hikes.
     I was miserable.

The Dying Noble Art of Meandering

Has anyone noticed that nobody takes the time to meander anymore? There is never the carefree afternoon just wandering around someplace you've never been, taking the time to just walk around doing nothing, taking the thrilling risk of getting mildly lost so you don't make it back in time for dinner.

Fear vs. Caution

I know that caution is a good characteristic. We all know of sad stories featuring cocky teenagers suffering from the invincibility syndrome who suddenly come face to face with the cruel reality that they are not, in fact, invincible. We as people should be smart, educated with the truth the matter, and above all sensible.
But I think that we have gone, as with so many other things, too far. Caution - an honorable trait - has been so exploited that fear is encouraged as the socially accepted norm. How can we hope to keep ourselves safe from the crime that surrounds us if our wits have been addlepated by being continually steeped in fear?
Fear is not sensible. It is not wise. It gives the criminally-minded among us, the black holes of society the advantage; how can we face someone reasoning with cold logic if the only weapon we have at hand is to fall into hysterics?
I'm not saying not to be cautious. By all means lock your door at night, phone somebody if you'll be late. I'm advocating caution, because caution is sensible. And I believe that one of the most effective and certainly the most underrated aspects of the cautious individual is taking care that one is never in a threatening situation and incapacitated. Fear is incapacitating.
So be cautious. Use sense and reason. Avoid being in dangerous places for nothing more that the thrill. Take defense classes and carry a can of pepper spray if it helps you to feel less afraid. Be rational about danger. And quit falling for the socially acceptable and oh-so-heavily promoted idea that fear is good and will help to keep you safe.
But don't tell someone else what she or he can do. The mind is a powerful tool. If I don't know that I can't beat up a 6'5" ax murderer, then I might just be able to if I had the reason and adrenaline rush. But you say, "How do we know that you're not holding on to your invincibility syndrome?" I don't do reckless things, drugs, alcohol, joyriding, etc. I'm as safe and sane as you are. I'm just as cautious. But I'm not afraid.
And yes, if I had something good and solid to use as a blunt object, I could beat up an intruder. So don't you think that I can't.