Fear is something that resides within us all. Fear keeps us alive. Fear keeps us from following dangerous paths and keeps us from doing things that hurt us.

Fear is evolution. Fear kept the backwards people that we were from being eaten by lions. Fear kept us out of the storms. Fear ensured that we would continue our lives.

Fear is something that I have been thrust headlong into in the recent weeks. Fear of feelings and pain and the unrequited. In my life I have seen the pain of feelings and the unrequited. It is in the past weeks that this fear has been screaming to me of that danger or pain that may lurk down the path I've been treading...

Funny thing about fear is that if you listen to it all the time you can miss things--profound, magical, wonderful, and amazing things. Am I listening to my fear? No. Do I still feel it tingling in the back of my psyche? Yes. BUT I know to listen to that fear assures that nothing wonderful will happen. I am meeting my fear head on. Grit those teeth, some things are worth screaming, and kicking, and fighting for.

A girl...A girl is facing her fears. She is pushing herself. She is following the dangerous paths of her fears almost everyday. She does it with a smile on her face and a song in heart. She is brave and wise; and she inspires me to face my own fears. I will face my fear with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. More people should be like her. I want to be more like her.

Fear accompanies the possibility of death, calm shepherds its certainty...