Fear Itself

A very wise man once said,”the only thing to fear is fear itself.” But if we fear fear, on top of all the other fears we have, we will always be scared. I am more than aware that this was not the intention of this phrase, it was meant to inspire bravery while coming into a new world. But since I am here in this same old world filled with lions and tigers and bears and spiders and muggers and rapists and murders and psychopaths, I believe I have the right to be a little scared of more than just fear itself.
Fear is what the universe feeds on. It is the fuel that makes the world turn around, partly so it can gain more fuel from those who fear the dark. Fear itself is scared of nothing. Fear itself knows no bounds. Fear itself breathes down the back of my neck when I walk down a dark road. Fear itself has no fears, so of course I plan on fearing fear itself.
As fear walks back and forth conjuring up new ways to make your skin crawl, it realizes how much harder it will have to work to make you scared. Our world is so corrupt that it takes just a little bit more to inspire fear in our hearts nowadays. Fear itself is growing too big.
Everyone fears the stock market’s crash. Everyone fears their houses will be taken away. Everyone fears they will be jumped while walking to eat lunch. Everyone fears death and everyone fears dying. They may not feel the same fears at the same time or all at once, but sooner or later, they are scared. They get so scared of everything, that they forget to be scared of nothing. They are so afraid of dying that they become afraid of living.
I have let fear rule my heart for far too long. I fear more than any reasonable person should. Fear itself has eaten away at my soul until there is nothing but the basics left. I have let fear prey on my mind until I am scared of everything and nothing. A strange noise is fear lurking in the distance. The silence is fear leaving me all alone. I fear fear itself.
This is no way for us to live. The worms that work their way into our brains are ruining our chances of truly living our lives like we should. We are too scared to go. We are too scared to stay. We are too scared to die. We are too scared to live. I have learned to fear fear itself and no one had to tell us we had to fear fear itself.

Wait! Don’t leave me here alone, I’m scared.
-Jessica D. Hunt