Manic Monday #4

This week's Manic Monday theme word: blow (any form of the word can be used)

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The following conversation, or something like it, is almost certain to ensue between a little girl and her mommy whenever the wind blows extra hard, even when the day is bright and sunny.

Little girl: (in a tremulous voice and with a hint of tears in her eyes) Mama, is there going to be a storm today?
Mommy: No, darling. There won't be any storm today.
Little girl: Are you sure?
Mommy: Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry. (and she enfolds her little girl in her arms in an effort to soothe her fears. And she usually succeeds.)

Ever since the little girl saw the havoc that a super typhoon can wreak on the world as she knows it--like felled trees and lampposts and power shortages for several days--she has been afraid of storms and any stronger-than-usual gust of wind that races through the leaves of the trees surrounding their house is enough to trouble her. But there are people around her to whom she can turn, who can assuage her fear and give her the comfort and reassurance she needs.

Little girls aren't the only ones who feel afraid. I think we're all afraid of something, though many of us won't admit it. Fear may strike the heart of a little boy once the lights are out and he feels that there's a monster in the closet just waiting to devour him; news reports of rape might make a woman's heart beat a tad faster as she walks home alone after dark; a teenager breathes, eats, and sleeps all things academic because she's afraid of disappointing her parents if she doesn't get high marks; a man drinks at a speed faster than to which he's accustomed because he's afraid that people will question his manliness if he doesn't.

Fear can be provoked from within and without, it may seem silly or not, and it doesn't matter if the source of one's fear is real. That little boy probably knows that there really isn't any monster lurking in his closet, but the fear that he feels is real.

Which brings to mind the movie Apocalypto (and I agree with fellow blogger Nunu's Mum: it rocked! The action, acting, and cinematography were breathtaking). I was talking it over with my dear friend Marnie and she called me weird when I told her I found it inspiring.

"And what, pray tell, did you find inspiring about it?" (Well, she doesn't really talk like that, but the essence of what she asked is the same.)

It's the part where Jaguar Paw turns to his pursuers and shouts: "This is my forest. I am not afraid!"

Prior to that though, he was afraid. Who wouldn't be, after the hell he had just gone through and still had to face? Still, he didn't give up, didn't lose focus on his motivation, used his environment to his advantage, and played to his strengths. As someone once said: "Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's the mastery of it." And that he certainly did. Also, it probably didn't hurt at all that he was one lucky bastard during the film's critical moments.

Facing one's fear and conquering it is easier said than done. But with perseverance, a touch of the bite-me attitude, and maybe with a bit of encouragement from the people who matter in one's life, it can be done.

Except when it comes to frogs. Because no amount of hand-holding or hugging or flipping the bird or words of encouragement will change the fact that the little buggers scare the living hell out of me.

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What is Manic Monday?
A multi-blogger meme, in the spirit of Wordless Wednesday, Thursday 13, Friday Feast, and Photo Hunters Saturday.

How to participate?
Visit Morgen's It's A Blog Eat Blog World any time after 4pm EST on Fridays to discover Monday's theme word. This will be a word with multiple definitions.

Use one of the definitions to inspire your Manic Monday Post = perhaps a photograph, a story, a joke, or a stream of consciousness paragraph inspired by the word. Be creative, and have fun with it.