Helena Sharpe

List of Fears:

1. Making a list of fears. I mean, if you think about it, it seems like an awful idea. To make a list of fears. Doesn’t it feel like some sort of cosmic dare to do such a thing? A thing, once stated out loud, written down even, becomes much more concrete. Suddenly, it isn’t a vague idea in one’s subconscious, easy to ignore. Suddenly it’s taken form: an image, a flavor, a shortness of breath. What was innocent becomes suspicious, and the mundane world is filled with evils. Not only this for individual fears, but every fear, in quick succession, a lifetime of racing pulse in a quick few words. How could such a thing be encouraged? How could such a thing be healthy, to dwell on fears? You’re as likely to become overwhelmed than yourself to overwhelm them. It’s much better to let such things alone, really.