"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fear can run your life. There are good books about this, like the Culture of Fear. There are movies about this, like Bowling for Columbine. Fear comes in many forms and many sizes. Fear can make you anxious, angry, sad, frustrated, or... well, afraid. People fear being late, missing a meeting, loosing an opportunity, having their house be flooded, not having a good party, having people not like them - it all boils down to basic fear.

I went to the skate park on Tuesday night. I stood at the top of a short (less than four feet) tall ramp (less than 45 degrees) and was unable to convince my body to go down the ramp. Eventually, by the end of the night, I had convinced myself to go down a lesser incline, which let me convince myself to go down that incline. I had a blast. It was fun. I managed to conquer my irrational fear.

Tonight I drove home from a friend's house thinking about my sump pump. What happened? Did the sump pump fail and is there 4 feet of water under the house? Of course, I was on my way home from Erick's house - will Randy be upset that I ended up at Erick's even though I was originally planning on going over to Randy's place? (of course, I called Randy at 8pm, but there was no answer)...

The sump pump is still working fine. I sustained no serious injuries at the skate park. I'm sure Randy won't be upset in the morning.

Fear.

What is the worst possible thing that could have happened? There could have been water in the crawlspace (there was over 3 feet of water in there before!). I could have broken an arm at the skate park (I've had two broken at the same time before!). Randy could be angry with me (I'm sure it's not the first or last time!). Fear is not productive. Fear is not helpful.

Respect is the key.

Respect the power of the elements on your house. Water can do damage. I let myself get lax on getting the sump pump inspected after the big rain earlier this year. Respect your body. Taking needless risk is bad, however going down a minor ramp isn't a big deal. Respect your friends. I had already talked with Randy about not showing tonight, I called, I didn't casually blow him off for "something better".

While fear isn't productive, having a healthy respect for the consequence of any action is a good thing. It isn't healthy to be afraid of driving through any neighborhood in Seattle. There just aren't scary enough places to truly be afraid of. At worst you have to give someone your car. That just isn't a big deal. Possessions are not worth your fear.

Live a life free from fear.

This doesn't mean to do stupid things. You must respect the scarce resources that we all get - friends, family, health, life. My friend Erick often talks about "prepaying" for bad things. For example, when you buy an alarm system for your house your are effectively prepaying for someone trying to steal from you. You shouldn't have to set an alarm when you leave the house, and you certaintly shouldn't have to pay a company to monitor the alarm for your house. Assume that people are good. I drive a convertible. I often leave the top down. I have yet to have anyone even take the change out of the cupholder in the car.

People are actually good. The neighborhood you live in is actually safe. Your friends actually like you. Your family actually loves you. You possessions aren't actually important.

Beyond fear is freedom.