Quote of the Week...from Ralph Waldo Emerson

He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life. 

                                                                        ---Ralph Waldo Emerson

Note that the great nineteenth century essayist, philosopher and poet didn't say to conquer all fears.  Fear is an important survival emotion and must be respected.  The problem is that in our Western society of insulation from nature's dangers, much of what we process as fear is now based on our social lives.  Fear of rejection, failure, embarrassment, and humiliation are some of the "replacements" for wild animal attacks and natural calamities.  It is these fears, I think, along with phobias based on things such as heights, inversion, closed spaces and the like, that Emerson is referencing.  His suggestion is to focus on conquering a fear on a daily basis...to me this may mean working on the same fear for a number of days if necessary.  One of the coolest days in my life happened on March 22, 2003, when I took our two kids Will and Rebecca to a nearby theme park to go on its thrill rides for the day.  Over the course of my lifetime, I had a strong fear of rollercoasters and any ride that went upside-down or played around with my sense of gravity.  That day, though, after being thoroughly shamed by the boldness of my children in going on all the rides on previous visits, I resolved to "face the fear" and went on every single ride in the park that even remotely challenged me.  After that, I went on a thrill ride spree at other theme parks for the next three years...what fun!  That's just one obvious example of what Emerson was saying...unfortunately, once I conquered those particular fears at the park, I didn't continue in other needed areas of my life.  But there's no better (or possible) time to change than in the present moment, so it looks like some more "face the fear" opportunities are in the works for me.  As a corollary to his above quote, Ralph Waldo Emerson also said, "You can conquer almost any fear if you only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere but in the mind."  Okay, dude, I'm holding you to your words....