GREY MUTTER lance fredericks The fearful moustache tickle
AUTHOR Teal Swan makes a very interesting point; she suggests that “we do not fear the unknown in and of itself. We fear the potential unwanted things we predict that the unknown could contain.”
I learned this at a very early age. You see, my earliest fear was that the adults would suddenly vanish. Adults, I discovered, apparently love the game “where’s he … THERE’S HE!” They would hide, sometimes even behind their own hands, and ask me – ME, a small, innocent, drooling baby – to guess where they were.
They would build up the tension, asking me three times where they were, before finally and magically appearing. I was so relieved each time I saw them that I burst out in laughter; and sadly this only encouraged them to do it again. I was always fearful of them vanishing forever – the “potential unwanted thing” I feared most was a future without someone to change my diapers and feed me milkies.
As I grew older I started to fear other things … being kissed by an old lady with a moustache was top of that list. Childhood is not for wimps, no wonder I grew up so twisted. The point is I grew up; but now because of hairy lips and adults vanishing for no logical reason I am a victim of my fears … and these days my fears are almost suffocating.
Nowadays I fear people who highlight the faults of others – not to those who they believe are at fault – to those keen enough to listen to their warped slander. I also fear that we’re becoming a species so critical of others’ flaws that we fail to acknowledge our own.
I am afraid of falling ill or getting injured, because it almost seems that the best care these days is not reserved for those who are most in need, but rather for those with the best medical aids and bulging bank balances.
I also fear hospitals, care centres and retirement facilities where the patients and inmates are despised more than the diseases that afflict them or the frailties that burden them.
And seeing as I have spoiled your day already with my petty fears, I might as well continue … I am terrified of people who believe that as long as they’re not caught in transgression, it’s OK to do the deed. Let’s be honest, these days it’s rare to find a driver fully focused on driving … almost everyone is driving and texting or busy with a phone call.
How do I know – if I slow down cautiously at an amber light or pedestrian crossing – that the texting driver behind me will not ram into my car?
What is even more worrying is that I have seen people who are tasked with upholding the rule of law (people who should be setting the example) driving whilst using a cellphone. I fear a society where those who are tasked with enforcing the law and protecting the citizens consider themselves above the law and superior to those they’re supposed to protect and serve.
I am even petrified of people who are so slack, lazy and lethargic at their jobs, especially when they “down tools”, because the only way to make the community aware that they’re not actually “working” seems to be for them to go on a rampage, vandalising our cities and venting their frustrations on innocents.
Look, all is not dark and dreadful; there is hope … but we have to wake up and make conscious decisions to focus on something other than our own comfort. We are headed for disaster as a species if we become so obsessed with our own comfort that we ignore making provisions for our future generations’ survival.
We can no longer afford to be self-centred. Selfishness is not working … just look around, and take note that the unknown could contain some good things, but only if we make disciplined, healthy choices now.