“There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.” Andre Gide
Seeing Max on today’s Google screen reminded me of how I make up monsters, just like in author Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.
And my monsters do the same sort of thing as in the book, “And the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.”
In fact, this morning a friend asked about one of my monstrous habits – trying to get along with people best kept at a distance.
My answer to her, “The first thing that comes to mind is I’m stirring up fear to avoid living my own life.”
Really?
Still?
Isn’t this scheme getting a little old? I could at least change it up a bit if I insist on self-destructing.
It’s almost comical to write.
What about you? Are you making up monsters to keep from living your life?
WRite wHere I’m supposed to be – As much as I’m comfortable (in a not-so-healthy way) keeping company with Max and his monsters, it’s time to grow up (even more), let go of people and fear (even more), and live my life (even more).
Fear and I walked the road together for way-too long. I held her hand … and she held me captive. How could I be myself — live my life out loud — when Fear kept pointing at certain people in my life and asking, \”What will he think?\” and \”What about her? What will she say?\”
Fear crowds out truth … and dreams … and it silences your voice … and let\’s others speak for you.
I\’m learning to take my stand against the monsters in my life … to walk alone. Well, not really. I know Who walks beside me now — and He loves me as I am.
This comment is beautiful, Beth. I\’m not there yet, but I want to be. Receiving a message from you and Dave today … I call that a God thing. I needed to hear what both of you had to say. Thank you for your friendship and your wisdom.
I just told a friend today that I\’d been listening to the voice of insecurity, and it kept me from writing her.
Thanks for sharing your monster.
And thanks for sharing yours, Beth. I love having friends who are brave enough to write about being afraid. That\’s how we help each other.
Thank you for having the courage to talk about fear, Kim. If we could peel back the layers, I think we\’d find fear underneath everything that troubles us. You\’ve got me thinking.
I think that same thing, Dave. A while back, I read an article about our health. The writer said she believed everything wrong with us physically was a result of either fear or anger. It\’s interesting to examine fear, rather than trying to escape it like I used to try to do. Running never did work, so I figured I might as well face it and write about it. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
Inspirational as always Kim.
Thanks so much, Rick. More about monsters on Monday. Maybe the theme will be Monster Mondays for the sake of alliteration and because I have a lot more to say about things that scare me. It helps to bring them out into the light and introduce them to readers like you.