A child has not heard so much as to know what will and what will not possibly hurt them. Up until around age 6 they seem to be fearless to everything around them because to them it looks like another toy. Example, when I was younger I used to love going on swings, and every chance I could get I would swing as high as I could, but now I think getting on one will snap it and trust me, that hurts. Yes, it has happened to me before, and I'm not sure if it's me getting older and knowing what can hurt me or just me being fat. Or both. All I know is I'm always a little hesitant to get on the swings now.
Here's a story I heard once. There was a little boy (because of my lack of knowledge of his name, I will call him Timmy) who loved the snow. He was about 5 and a half years old when it first started snowing and even though it wasn't much he went out and made snow angels. However, he waited until the biggest storm to go out and sled. Finally, a few weeks later it hit and it was exactly how he wanted it to be so he got out the sled and went to the big neighborhood hill. Now, at his age, all you want to think about is the fun aspect of whatever is happening, and all Timmy was thinking about was how fast he could go. He then went to the top of the hill and aimed down the street he would sled down.
Take in all the factors, big hill, lots of snow, fast sled, on a street which intersected with another. These are all the factors I look at before putting myself into a situation like this, but that is because I fear every possible scenario, and Timmy didn't. Timmy took a few steps back, then took a good leap and launched down the hill, and in seconds he passed the intersection and just had to drag his feet to slow down, except Timmy wanted to push it. He decided he would wait longer than usually to slow down. At the same time, a driver was backing out of his driveway furious that he had to go to work on such a cold day and that was just distracting enough to make him not even think about looking for anything, or in this case, anyone. Timmy was still going fast when he saw a giant metal figure appear before him, but dragging his feet was not gonna slow him down fast enough.
When Timmy thought he could go farther than usual he was proven wrong by the thick framing of the SUV in front of him. Timmy's last thought when going down the hill was the possibility of a car, all he thought about was his going down a powdery white alley, but cars are not powdery, they are heavy built with thick metal plating.
So back to fear, is it bad that we fear? Clearly, Timmy might have been just fine if he feared the possible outcome of his situation. Fear is what keeps us safe, it's what tells us to be cautious so we don't get hurt. Don't hate your fears, thank them. People are scared of spiders because they know that they can hurt you, or they are scared of the darkness because anything can reside there, but that is what keeps them from getting near spiders or the darkness, and that is why people like them will live longer. You're not tough because you say you're fearless, you are actually far weaker than everyone else.
However, don't let these fears control you. I hate heights but I love roller-coasters. You need to know that even though you may be scared of something, there is always a way to solve that problem. You can kill a spider, or take a flashlight. Figuratively, there is an imaginary "seatbelt" to every bad situation, rely on that seatbelt. Relying on it will help you feel more free.
Here's a story I heard once. There was a little boy (because of my lack of knowledge of his name, I will call him Timmy) who loved the snow. He was about 5 and a half years old when it first started snowing and even though it wasn't much he went out and made snow angels. However, he waited until the biggest storm to go out and sled. Finally, a few weeks later it hit and it was exactly how he wanted it to be so he got out the sled and went to the big neighborhood hill. Now, at his age, all you want to think about is the fun aspect of whatever is happening, and all Timmy was thinking about was how fast he could go. He then went to the top of the hill and aimed down the street he would sled down.
Take in all the factors, big hill, lots of snow, fast sled, on a street which intersected with another. These are all the factors I look at before putting myself into a situation like this, but that is because I fear every possible scenario, and Timmy didn't. Timmy took a few steps back, then took a good leap and launched down the hill, and in seconds he passed the intersection and just had to drag his feet to slow down, except Timmy wanted to push it. He decided he would wait longer than usually to slow down. At the same time, a driver was backing out of his driveway furious that he had to go to work on such a cold day and that was just distracting enough to make him not even think about looking for anything, or in this case, anyone. Timmy was still going fast when he saw a giant metal figure appear before him, but dragging his feet was not gonna slow him down fast enough.
When Timmy thought he could go farther than usual he was proven wrong by the thick framing of the SUV in front of him. Timmy's last thought when going down the hill was the possibility of a car, all he thought about was his going down a powdery white alley, but cars are not powdery, they are heavy built with thick metal plating.
So back to fear, is it bad that we fear? Clearly, Timmy might have been just fine if he feared the possible outcome of his situation. Fear is what keeps us safe, it's what tells us to be cautious so we don't get hurt. Don't hate your fears, thank them. People are scared of spiders because they know that they can hurt you, or they are scared of the darkness because anything can reside there, but that is what keeps them from getting near spiders or the darkness, and that is why people like them will live longer. You're not tough because you say you're fearless, you are actually far weaker than everyone else.
However, don't let these fears control you. I hate heights but I love roller-coasters. You need to know that even though you may be scared of something, there is always a way to solve that problem. You can kill a spider, or take a flashlight. Figuratively, there is an imaginary "seatbelt" to every bad situation, rely on that seatbelt. Relying on it will help you feel more free.
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