Thursday Musings: Revisiting Childhood Fears

"Courage is the complement of fear. A man who is fearless cannot be courageous. He is also a fool." Lazarus Long

Recently, I took the plunge and joined Mamakat’s Writer’s Workshop. I signed up this blog and my WordPress blog because I realized it was time to break the once a week blogging cycle. So far I am enjoying the process and even added another Thursday writing exercise with Redhead Riter. All is well.

Every week, Kathy of Mamakat’s devotes part of her busy schedule to send writing prompts to the group. We choose one from a short list, write on it and then add it to a page link where everyone gathers to click and give comments/support to at least 3 other bloggers.  Just like the blog hops, the writing list provides a concrete way for the group to share a common goal and support each other with comments.




This week’s prompt: Write about Childhood Fears you've taken into your Adult Life.
My first reaction to the prompt was to say, "Oh come on, I have no carry over fears…" But I thought about it some more and decided that it would be a good challenge to revisit the scary “demons” of my childhood and figure out which ones had been put to bed and which, if any, still needed an exorcism. 

Would you like to join me and reminisce for a moment? You might actually shock yourself to find out that some might still be hanging around the edges, looking for a vulnerable moment to tap you on the shoulder and say… “I’m back!”  Now I’m scaring myself. Lol! This brings me to my first fear:

A Fear of Ghosts: I think all children have a vivid imagination so the realm of ghosts is not so far fetched. Being exposed to lots of childhood stories about gremlins and spooks meant I imagined them to life. At one point in my childhood, we lived near a burial ground and we would see small dogs and old women come into our bedroom at night. Yikes! As an adult, I have rationalized it all as my imagination so it doesn’t scare me as much… but there’s a tad left.

A Fear of Scary Movies: Horror movies or movies with outrageous monstrous characters often gave me nightmares. Whenever I watched a psychological thriller or a horror flick, I’d have flashes of it for days… Even now as an adult, I stay away from that genre of movie making. I don’t get the point of going to the theater to scare myself witless. I don’t want to find out.

A Fear of Bugs: I think the thing with bugs is that I couldn’t bring myself to touch them and that translated into a fear of being near them. I think most bugs are harmless and I can ignore them in a park or public place. Multiple legged bugs, like millipedes and poisonous bugs/insects like scorpions, still give me goose pimples; the fear lingers a little bit... okay, a lot. :-)

A Fear of Dying: This is a universal fear that most humans have and I think that, at different points in our lives, we overcome it or accept the inevitability of life’s final outcome. The point is that instead of worrying about dying; we should focus on living the best life we can. I value my life, the lives of my family, friends, and the lives of others so my fear has turned into an appreciation of life and the importance of … living it.

A Fear of War: As a war survivor, I still have vivid memories of jet fighter planes zooming overhead, dropping murderous bombs everywhere, and leaving mayhem and madness in its wake. I recall all the accompanying atrocities that are ubiquitous to war zones and still shudder. War is never an option and I fear that if our global leaders relax their peace efforts, our children will inherit a nightmare. I still fear the impact of war. Another thing that ties in with war is the fear of not having enough emergency supplies to help the sick and wounded… Thankfully, there are many agencies today that make it their goal to ensure supplies get through.

The Fear of Bad Food: I have had food poisoning a few times in my life and it wasn’t pretty. I was always a picky eater as a child and I remain particular about what and where I eat. I’ve had food in typically acceptable venues and gotten violently ill; so it isn’t unique to specific types of places.

My mom was a gourmet chef and I enjoyed many creative and tasty dishes in our kitchen and at mealtimes; I definitely love great, freshly prepared foods.  I love trying new foods but still fear eating something nasty like the clams (I’m allergic to them) I had at college that almost did me in. That fear still stands.

My childhood fears are not quite as griping as they seemed back in the day. My journey to fearlessness is made easier by my willingness to look at my fears.

What are your fears? Do you share any fears or phobias from my list above? Have you overcome or given yourself a logical explanation for any of your fears? Do share. Thank you!

PHOTO CREDITS:  
Evil Smiley by Puppy94_photos via Photobucket

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank