I see people talking about being scared, and I get it. However, I am not.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

Being scared means that part of your brain is occupied with what horrors can happen next.

You need to be calm and keep your eyes open so that any threat can be viewed without the scared filter.

Being scared hinders your good judgement.

This is my take on it, anyway.

[wendyb-NC]

1. Well said, Peggy

I agree with you. Fear alters perception, and crowds out common sense.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Thanks for your remarks, my dear wendyb-NC!

[True Dough]

3. If Gavin Newsome doesn't remain governor

I'd like everyone to write in California Peggy's name on their ballot!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Well, ALL that I can say is HE'D BETTER REMAIN OUR GOVERNOR!

How kind of you to say so, my dear True Dough!

[Walleye]

4. Yes some fear is out of all proportion to the actual danger

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Indeed it is! ♥

[Polly Hennessey]

7. I am not scared. I am cautious. Life continues

to enchant and amaze me. Here in Northern California we are ready, just in case. Emergency supplies, check. Suitcase with extra clothes and important papers, check. Dog snd cat supplies, check. New roomy carrying cage for Mr. Bird, check. If the worst happens, we have already shed our tears snd said goodbye to the house. We have each other, so no, we are not afraid.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. You've got the right idea! Being prepared is better than gold. n/t

[Irish_Dem]

8. Sometimes fear is good. Tells us there is danger, we need to pay attention.

Some of that antivaxers should be afraid of Covid and take proper medical advice.

But yes, fear can also be crippling.

We are living in a scary time, but we have to find a way to moderate our fear.
And reduce our stress level, at the same time pay attention.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. All valid points!

[DickKessler]

9. Don't borrow trouble! Thank you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Absolutely right, and Welcome to DU!

[NewHendoLib]

13. I'm not afraid of a thing. Pretty damn disgusted, though!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Oh, I hear you on that! Me too. ♥

[Journeyman]

14. "I am an old man and have known many troubles," Mark Twain ruminated near his end . . .

"I am an old man and have known many troubles, most of which never happened."


Sufficient unto the day are the troubles therein. No sense seeking those not developed, living in fear of what truly exists at the moment only in your mind. Do what you can, instead, to effect the outcome you prefer.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. Thank you for this profound bit of writing, my dear Journeyman! It's really true. ♥

[multigraincracker]

27. I had a great shrink that saved me 30 years ago.

I was telling him about all of my fears. He told me only 85% of our fears come to pass. For years I kept track and he was right on the money.

[lpbk2713]

15. You are a stoic Peg.

Always have been. I admire you for that.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Aw, thanks, my dear lpbk2713!

I certainly can be, and usually that's when I'm at my best.

[AndyS]

19. Fear is the mind killer . . .

from Dune.

[Ocelot II]

21. GMTA! The first quote that came to my mind.

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

[Silver Gaia]

37. That's my favorite passage from Dune.

It's so true, and so appropriate here. Thanks for posting it. If you hadn't, I would have.

[Silver Gaia]

38. My mind went immediately there, too!

[liberaltrucker]

20. The Brits got it right

"Keep calm and carry on".

[dameatball]

22. I live among "them" but that is not what scares me. It is the state of the country that we will pass

on to our grandchildren. I can take care of myself as none of my Trumpy neighbors can get organized enough to attack my azalea fortifications with their riding mowers before I can shower them with the garden hose. But...there will be lone wolves and radical sects here and there for the foreseeable future. Hard to undo 30-40 years of propaganda.
That sucks.

[alfredo]

23. I'm afraid you're right

[electric_blue68]

25. not so easy when you're a worrier with a vivid imagination

I'm telling you...

(oh, I do have a lot of joy, and fun as well - not a real doom & gloomer. I tend to be more optimistic about other people 👍 )

I have a "internal 'holodeck'" which is fantastic for
Art making(!), not so much for worrying.

[mountain grammy]

26. Agree!

I allow myself to be informed, concerned, worried, even a bit panicked, but i will remain aware and alert and not afraid.

"Be calm and keep your eyes open so that any threat can be viewed without the scared filter" is perfect. My motto.

[kairos12]

28. Stay ready do you don't have to get ready.

[bucolic_frolic]

29. Scared means you're trapped

Proper planning and risk assessment can greatly reduce the ability to be scared. However you see your situ, whatever the trap entails, plan ahead.

[Kaleva]

32. Agree 100%

[Kaleva]

30. Being as well prepared as one can be can help deflate the feeling of being scared.

Climate change is very serious but I'm not scared of it as i spend a great deal of time and effort preparing for what is predicted to come in the region I live in.

[nolabear]

31. Don't see many OPs from you, Peg, but when you do, you make sense.

I'll confess, sometimes it's difficult, especially when you get bombarded with so much negative you think that's a far, far bigger percentage of what's happening than it is.

I ran across the concept of wu wei quite by accident recently. It's "active inaction," the art of knowing when to, as Mother Mary said, "Let it be." Not to be inert or ignore what's important, but to know the difference and to enjoy the flow of the natural world as well.

We're traumatized, we Americans in particular, and it makes you superstitious.

Thanks for the wisdom.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

33. right on CPeg!

It's similar to the line in the movie The Shootist where Henry Morgan tells John Wayne "I'm too old to be scared"

[hay rick]

34. Scared can be good or bad.

Scared is good if it spurs you to constructive action.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. Thanks for all the great thoughtful responses!

I am currently out of time as other responsibilities are calling me.

But be sure that I have (and will continue to) read every post that shows up!

Gawd, I love my friends.

[bottomofthehill]

36. caught in the middle

I read some of Marcus Aurelius writings and then read Think Like a Roman Emperor, thought I was a tough guy and had things all figured out, but I also read De Becker's The Gift of Fear and learned a lot from both.

I am often scared, the world is a scary place, my world is a scary place, but you can not let your fear dominate your actions.

Some days I am more scared than others, but every day I answer the bell, come to work, do my job and so far, get to go home. I have found that fear makes me better at my job, paralysis due to fear would not.

[soldierant]

39. Fear and anger both have their place.

But it is important to use them - preferable wisely - and not to allow them to use you.

Fear is necessary for survival.

Anger is necessaery as the impetus to improve one's life and/or surroundings.

[evolves]

40. Thank you Peggy

for putting things into perspective.

[Scrivener7]

41. I wish I were more like you. I worry about everything.

Worrying makes me research, and research gives me a feeling of control, so I guess I have a coping mechanism.