Happy All Hallow’s Evening to all my ghouls and ghosts out there! Haunted houses are in full swing, spooky decorations are placed and children have purchased their costumes in preparation for the big night when they go door-to-door proudly proclaiming “Trick or Treat.” Yes the season of fear is all around us.
Halloween started as a celebration of the end of harvest season. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31 the world between the dead and the living overlapped and the dead could come back to life haunting the world with sickness and crop destruction. This is where the fear of ghosts and ghouls came in. Over the years it has spread to include bats, witches, spiders, and just about anything scary.
Now is the time of year where people prey on others fears. They say the only way to get over a fear is to face it head on, so let’s explore fear as our Weekend Word.
fear
ˈfir
noun
- an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.
While fear is commonly focused on during the Halloween season, there are many fears that people face every day. A student fears failing a test. An employee fears getting fired. Food – insecure people wonder where their next meal will come from. Homeless people fear not having shelter and protection from the elements. The list goes on and on.
There are many children living in Uganda and facing several fears each day. Not having food in their belly, a roof over the head, vulnerable to being subjected to human trafficking, captured by rebel armies for soldiers, raped, or worse. Thankfully, the students at our schools have found a home and a safe place where these fears are less a reality.
With so many real-world fears around us every day, how do we overcome them? We face them. It sounds simple but is so hard to implement. How many times have you been afraid to do something and so you put it off for an hour, a day, a month, longer? How did it feel carrying the baggage of that fear for all that time? And do you remember the relief you felt when you were finally able to face it?
Often we know the solution, but are afraid to do what it takes to face our fear. Why do we allow ourselves to be haunted by our fears when the solution seems so simple? Just do it. Face your fear head on and do the thing you are afraid of most. Simple in theory, but our emotions and feelings get in the way, making it harder to do. Overcoming fear takes practice. It doesn’t happen overnight, but overtime you can take steps toward conquering your fear.
Take some words of advice from Eleanor Roosevelt…“Do one thing that scares you every day.”
Follow this simple practice and you’ll be one step closer to overcoming your fears every day.
Have a safe and happy Halloween,
Cristen
