Fear(less)

This is Day 13 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Fears.  Please visit the other participants for more adventures.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fear can multiply and build on itself until it becomes powerful and consuming, and unchecked it can eventually take the place of what caused the fear in the first place.  We need to keep fear in its place.  A little fear can keep us from making critical mistakes, but when fear takes over it is paralyzing.

We can get so caught up in our fear that our rational side is overwhelmed. How can we take control of a fear? That depends on the cause. We might try confronting the fear, such as flying or heights, and find that it is not as bad as we expected. Perhaps taking a step back and reaffirming the positive things we know to be true can provide some relief. 

Fear has many different faces and effects, and there is no one size fits all solution for managing or overcoming them. Sometimes you just want to Shout!

Enjoy at little Tears for Fears.

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Stressed or Knot?

This is Day 12 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Stress.  Please visit the other participants for more adventures.

Does stress have you tied in a knot? 

Stress. How about staring at a blank screen when you should be clicking publish on today's post. Stress. It is a simple word, a one-syllable, seemingly innocuous little five-letter word. Of those five letters, three are "s". S is the letter we use to make words plural and stress has three of them.  

A nonsensical way of looking at it, of course, but serving to stress the fact that stress is hardly a simple word. It's consequences and complications are something we have all felt at some time in our lives. The effects of stress are so widespread today that stressed-out is as common a response as - oh you know, same old, same old.

Another phrase commonly heard now is de-stress. People say they need to work out, meditate, do yoga, or whatever to de-stress. I guess this replaces wind down or unwind from decades past.

When stress has you in a knot, what are some of your favorite ways to de-stress?



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Modern Obsession?

This is Day 11 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Selfie Nation. Please visit the other participants for more adventures.

What is a selfie? Some years ago I had to ask that same question when my niece mentioned selfies. She said that's when you take a picture of yourself with your cell phone camera. That's the way new words come into being. 

It seems we have become enamored with taking our own pictures. I will admit it is a good way to document your vacations and other adventures or be able to share photos of yourself when there is no one around to take your picture. 

I am usually taking the pictures which is fine since most of the time I don't like the way I look in photographs, especially at close range. Needless to say, I won't be posting any selfies here.

Yet there is the occasional instance like this one when I definitely wanted my picture taken. Obviously a selfie wouldn't work here since I had my hands full.

The downside of selfies is the obsession those of taking bunches of random self portraits or silly faces and sharing them with thousands of their closest friends via social media.  Selfies can also get to be hazardous when folks focus too much on getting the cool picture and not enough on what's going on around them.

The bottom line is I don't think taking selfies is bad unless it becomes an obsession, is disruptive, or poses a hazard to them or others around them.

And, because this is Monday, here is a selfie quote!

With the selfies, a photographer has finally found his place in a photograph. ― Amit Kalantri

That is definitely a true statement!

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