Sturgis Writers' Mill: I was Afraid of That

It’s amazing what our intuition tells us. For example, when you hear your kids thumping around upstairs, and there’s a crash, you know you’ll holler with trepidation: “What’s going on up there?” knowing darn well the response will be, “Nothing!”

How much of it is intuition, or a phobia, or cellular memory? How does the primitive human emotion of fear teach us to be aware of impending doom?

A book by Gavin de Becker, The Gift of Fear, taught me to pay attention to signs I was in danger. In my childhood, I was almost taken by a stranger at a mall, I ran in front of a moving car, and I walked away unnoticed from a summer recreation program. Only luck and my mom rescued me every time. I was apparently born without this gift. I was diagnosed with severe myopia before I was seven. There’s a good chance I never saw any of it coming.

If you‘ve been in or wiitnessed an auto accident, and the agitation caused by the thought of being in a vehicle seriously inhibits your feelings of being free to travel in a car, you have Vehophobia!

Do you get anxious when you find a bump or lump on your body? Are you afraid of your phone, pollution, or your deodorant putting you at risk for cancer? This panic is Carcinophobia!

Does it make your heart flutter when you think about being without your cellphone, or the phone having short battery life, or being out of range? You have Nomophobia!

Do you break a sweat thinking of developing a phobia? You have Phobophobia!

There’s a new set of fears for folks who drive electric cars. They will drive for miles without heat to make sure to avoid using excess energy because they don’t know if they can make it to their destination before the battery’s capacity poops out! If they live in terror of failing to make it to the next charging station, they have Range Phobia!

How distressing is the idea of Toilet Phobia? It’s real! If you get dry mouth, or tremble at not being able to get to a bathroom in time, or you’re nauseated at being unable to use a public lavatory (maybe because someone might be listening?), you’ve got it!

We know what Germophobia is. It’s got subsets for bacteria, vermin, and the need for constant hand washing. You can also be afraid of choking, being inside, being outside, loud noises, animals, filthy spiders ... you name it. This fear makes you sick!

I hear these fears can become genetically imprinted on us! I have a dread fear of wooden things touching my hands or tongue. Who held down my forbears and inflicted such torture?

I’ve never believed in reincarnation. I’ve got a present life. This present moment is enough. There’s an old expression, “If I knew then what I know now ...” There’s another expression: “There’s no fool like an old fool!”

Every choice I have ever made is mine, and has led me to where I am now. I’m not afraid of it.

In Proverbs 20:3, it says, “It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.” I’m no fool. I’m not looking for trouble!

Tip: Don’t forget to use context when you write. It helps your readers understand what you’re talking about. Talk about it with me at [email protected].

Bio: Cindy Kline has been a parent and a teacher for much of her life. There’s not much she’s afraid of. Tell her what you’re afraid of at [email protected].

— Sturgis Writers’ Mill is a community of writers who constructively encourage, support and challenge each other as they discover their unique voices. Any opinion expressed is solely that of the author.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Sturgis Writers' Mill: I was Afraid of That