Monday, March 05, 2007

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.

**********

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.




38 comments:

Sebastiane said...

Hmmm ... Sounds fun!

Mimi Lenox said...

WOW. Your writing just gets better and better. I am so enjoying these Manic memes.

H said...

poor little baby! but she and her mum look lovely. ;-)

But sometimes it's good to be afraid. [so said sour grapes].

Gattina said...

I am very afraid of wind, since we had a very unusual storm in the 90th, 200 km/h ! and a lot of roofs were blown away. I only found 3 of our trees laying on the street. It was the strongest storm we ever had in Belgium.

Janna said...

My own Manic Monday post also deals with being afraid of powerful winds. In my case, though, it's because I was a little too close for comfort...

Lizza said...

Kyels: The frog? :-D Or Manic Mondays? Have a great week!

Mimi: Thank you, beautiful. I really appreciate that.

H: Yes, I think so too. But there has to be a balance, otherwise you'll go through life all lopsided. And that ain't cool. :-D

Gattina: Wow! That was one terrible storm. I'm heading off to read your post and others. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Janna: Oooh, I gotta read that. I'm guessing hurricane? Glad you're safe!

Alice (in BC Canada) said...

The dog I had for 11 1/2 years was totally freaked by storms. She would start freaking out before there was even any signs of a storm, or at least any signs I could see. One time she ripped the screen door off my home as I didn't realize what was happening so didn't let her inside soon enough. If she was inside and I was away when a storm hit, she went and hid under my bed. I'd come home and find her under there but never figured out how she got there as I almost had to take the bed apart to get her out. She really was bigger than the floor-to-bed space was. I sure miss her... but my current dog, Reba, is not at all bothered by storms or any other noise either.
Good Manic Monday post.

houseband00 said...

Baket tuyo ang buhok sa beg-tu, Liz?

Photoshop din? =)

Lizza said...

Alice: Thanks. Your previous pet sounds darling. My dog isn't scared of storms, but of noise. Which is kinda weird because he's so noisy himself. Thanks for stopping by!

HB: Haha! Eh bakit pa nga ba, ibig sabihin kakapasok ko pa lang sa pool at hindi pa sumisisid when the pics were taken. Sus! :-D

houseband00 said...

Malay ko ba? =)

Lizza said...

Magkape ka nga muna. :-)

Crazy Working Mom said...

What about Kermit? Are you afraid of that cute little guy? :)

Just kiddin'...great writing! Thanks for sharing. Happy Monday!

Lisa Ryan said...

I am not fond of storms myself. And now that you mention it, frogs either! They are just not a big part of where I live.

Sidney said...

You are afraid of frogs? I thought that every woman was dreaming of kissing a frog one day.

Liz Hill said...

Lovely post Lizza. I really like how you worked the theme. My irrational fear is being stuck on a bridge and it collapsing. I get nervous any time I get stuck on one. I love reading your stuff sugar.

Odat said...

Wow..Leave it to you to start out with wind blowing and turn it into facing our fears....Great post lizza!
Peace

Dean aka Sgt Dub said...

rrrrribbit. just kidding. fear, yes fear is real, what do I fear, nothing but the woman i married.

Schmoop said...

I have an incredible fear of Tornados. I dream about them alot as well. Nice job as always Lizza, and those folks over at the Mattress Police dissed my entries. Outrageous!!

ShadowFalcon said...

i only like storms when I'm indoors and have no intention of going out - but tropical storms are terrifying - glad we don't ahve any here.

Lizza said...

Crazy working mom: Oh, never Kermit. I have nothing against faux frogs. :-)

Happy Monday to you, too!

Lisa: I'll take a storm over a frog any day. Within reason. :-) Thanks for stopping in!

Sidney: Not this woman. Kiss a frog? Ewww, blech, ptui! But if it's a talking frog, let me know. We could make millions. :-D

Turnbaby: Yes, that does sound scary. Thanks for the praise, sugar.

Odat: Thank youuu! Wishing you a green-light week ahead, sweet lady.

Sgt Dub: Hahaha! Now that is a healthy fear to have.

Matt-man: Yes, I remember a tornado post you made. From what I see on TV, they're beautiful but oh so frightening.

The MP did that? Ohhh, bad, bad MP!

Shadowfalcon: We get storms a lot here during the rainy season. Thankfully, super typhoons aren't too common.

Natalia said...

Did I mention as a writing professor how much I love that people are doing this?

-N

Mo and The Purries said...

Frogs? Really? Do you have scary frogs there, or is it just one of those visceral reactions that you cannot explain?
For me = cockroaches.
I love frogs. Snakes even.
99% of insects.
Even spiders.
But cockroaches give me the heebie-jeebies!

Great blow blog! And thanks for the continued shout out/definition of Manic Monday -- you rock!

ps: for Janna, it was a tornado that destroyed her home. We're too far inland for hurricanes. We're in twister country here in the US Midwest.

cheers!
manic mo

Lizza said...

Natalia: It's like a writing exercise (as most blogs are) and it sure is interesting. I'd appreciate any criticism, etc., even though I do this to get things off my chest.

Morgen: All frogs are scary for me. :-D We get small frogs and big bullfrogs. I don't know why they scare me so. Cockroaches I can take because it's easy to kill the little bastards. Not so when it comes to frogs.

Thank you for coming up with Manic Mondays. I'm enjoying reading other people's takes on your theme word. Janna's entry was damn scary. We have tornadoes here once in a blue moon, but nothing close to what you guys can have there.

Phoenix said...

As Rosevelt once said "There is nothing to fear but fear itself"

Phoenix
x

robkroese said...

Ok, you've convinced me to add Apocalypto to my Netflix queue....

Anonymous said...

"Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's the mastery of it"

liz, i truly embraced that statement. one can never conquer fear (or anything) until one can fully understand it. and u know what (u probabaly knew already), the victory this way is sweeter. :)

Lizza said...

Phoenix: Wise words, indeed. But easier said than done. :-)

Diesel: I really liked it. I thought it kicked ass, in the action, acting and cinematography bits. Hope you enjoy it, too.

Maggie: I agree. Victory is so much sweeter after all the bullshit we need to go through. :-)

Foofa said...

Poor little thing. I need to figure out how to put the linky thing on my Monday post. I blow.

thethinker said...

"a teenager breathes, eats, and sleeps all things academic because she's afraid of disappointing her parents if she doesn't get high marks"

Describes me perfectly.

Michael C said...

Very nicely done! I'm really going to have to learn this Manic Monday stuff!

Rachel Schell said...

that was beautiful!!

lastlifeinmyuniverse said...

oooh manic monday sounds like an awesome idea. let me get down to thinkin about it...

Lizza said...

Natalie: You most certainly do not! I liked your Manic Monday post.

Thinker: Come to think of it, it does.

Michael: Thanks! Join in the fun. :-)

Rach: Thank you very much. :-)

Deb: Ooooh, hope you do it too.

Scott from Oregon said...

And you know I have to tell you that big winds always made me want to climb as high as I dared into the super tall Sugar Pines we had growing in our yard. Up about sixty feet where the wind whipped the treetops around and I could swing 10 meters in all directions...

Woohoohoo!

And the only truly scary frogs are the ones that hide in your shower drain...

Anonymous said...

Pers op all, apir tayo sa Apocalypto! Kakayanig no? (parang sarap paluin ang ka-puetan ni Mel, sabay kurot na rin!)

Sekonli, ke-gaganda naman talaga ng iyong mga bubwit...hindi naman kataka taka at beri priti ang ina. Post ka nga ng piktyur ng ama ng mga bubwit at ng makilatis...

Ikatlo, ang kulet ni HB no?
Ba't naman nya kaya naisip na pinoto-shop mo, ibig ba nyang sabihin e sinuper-impose mo yung ulo mo sa seksing katawan? (you should be flattered in that case)

At oo nga, tama si Mimi sa taas, your writing is getting bettah n bettah inday! aprub ako dyan! Magaleng, magaleng...

At lasli, hindi kami matutuloy sa pag-uwi sa inang bayan sa Abril (hu hu hu hu...hwaaahhhhh!!!)
Dangan kasi etong lekat kong panganay, kelangang masigasig shang mag-revise at yung resulta nung exam nila sa June is what's going to determine his future. So, in short, mauunsyami ang ating tunggaan ng tequila. Giving you more time to practise (o, nanghamon na naman...)

O siya, at mistula na ata itong blog post.

PS. That 1st photo ay napaka-daring ha inday! siguro naligalig si HB kaya bigla kang in-accuse na phinoto shop mo... he he

CS said...

I had to laugh that in the end you managed to work in your frog phobia. Remember, it's not easy being green.

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

what a great post Lizza...sorry it has taken me two days to get here.. work is killing me..i so miss my trips here..

Lizza said...

Scott: Noooo, there are NO frogs in my shower drain! I hate you.

Swinging on top of trees on a windy day sounds like fun. Woohoo indeed!

Barnsley babe: Hwaaaaaat??? Hindi kayo makakauwi? Waaaaahhhh! Pero kunsababoy, ok na din kasi sobrang sikip sa Boracay sa April. Sige, nextaym na lang. Mag-eensayo pa ako para hindi naman ako mapahiya sa iyo. At gudlak sa iyong panganay.

Salamat din sa iyong papuri. Ang pinotoshop ko lang naman ay yung daliri sa ikalawang pic. Pano naman naging deyring yung unang pic, wala namang kleebeyge na naipakita at maipapakita! Siya, salamat ulit. :-D

CSL: Haha! Poor Kermit.

Bond: Missed ya too. Take it easy. :-)