Musings from #oldguywritesbooks (a series)
Among others, there is an acronym for fear that resonates with me particularly well. It is “False Evidence Appearing Real.” Over the years, I have felt fear about several things, people, and circumstances, only to realize later that I was wrong to feel that way. FDR’s old saying, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” was hard for me to accept. I think I may have enjoyed living with a little fear here and there. It was easy for me to find and latch onto any number of things, particularly in new circumstances, from which I could buy into a sense of fear. And I could do it because I didn’t fully look at the reality of that circumstance, but rather the false reality of the circumstance that fed my fear. I could conjure things that weren’t valid.
I shared the above to make a point about my being an author. Writing has always been something I have loved to do—so much so that it’s fair to say that it has always been a passion of mine. So far, so good, right? Then the “buts” showed up. I loved to write but was afraid I was no good at it. I loved to write, but what I would write was not worth reading. I loved to write, but even if I did write something worth reading, no one would read it, much less enjoy it. I loved to write, but I thought of myself as just a regular person, a schmuck.
The question I have for you is this—knowing (at least I hope you do) that you have a story in you that’s waiting to get written, do you see yourself in the paragraph you just read? Don’t feel bad or think of yourself poorly if you do. It’s more common to feel that way than you realize, and it’s based on the acronym I shared in the first paragraph. Know this—we all, including you, have a story inside that could, and should, get written. And the only thing that’s stopping it from happening is you. We will continue the topic in the next post. Stay tuned.