I decided one of the things I wanted for my birthday was to take my parents to go see Avatar in 3D. As I’ve gotten older, getting “stuff” just doesn’t hit the spot like it used to. Well, thanks mom for making me that cool Beatles blanket, and thanks again for the angel food cake. Anyway, taking the parents to see a cool movie was up my alley. Fortunately, Randy, Jared and Liz came along too (Jenna took baby Caleb for his first trip shopping with the ladies).
After having seen 3 rather disappointing sequels (okay, prequels) to Star Wars I didn’t expect to be blown over by technology. But, the special effects in this movie are damn near SEEMLESS, and the plot is really cool too. That, and I absolutely LOVE the color blue:)
Something interesting happened in the theater that lined up pretty well with some recent thoughts. I’ve been reflecting quite a bit lately regarding where I’m at with my “fear issues,” and the truth is, I’m not all that happy with where things are at, or at least where they’ve been at. Really frustrating too, because for much of my adult life I’ve put a lot of effort into fighting fear. Granted, it is easy for anxiety to generalize, and watching a close loved one self-destruct, and then, whether intentional or not, ultimately succeed in that destruction is a bit much for anyone to handle. But, I also realize that my fears have brought me a lot of unnecessary stress, and well…pain. Sometimes fear can work to one’s advantage (e.g. totally kicking ass on my CIH exam) but usually that’s not the case. Usually we end up worrying about things for which worrying provides us no advantage, and we unnecessarily endure a very large amount of discomfort.
So what happened in the theater? Well, on my way back from using the restroom, as I was meandering past several enraptured theater-goers, I tripped. Not just a little trip, but one of those almost do a face plant types of trips. In catching myself (fortunately I did), I kind of pulled this girl’s hair, and then pulled back this other person’s seat about half-way down, and I may have even kicked somebody. Of course, I apologized profusely, but the main reason I’m sharing this story is because of what happened afterward. If something like that had happened when I was younger (actually, maybe even up until just a few years ago) I would have been MORTIFIED. Instead, I went back to my seat and enjoyed the rest of the show, with a big smile on my face. Now it is true that if I had needed to use the restroom again I would have gone the OTHER direction, but I think what happened says a lot about how far I’ve come with this fear thing. I even had a good laugh telling the story to my family as we left the theater, and of course they all laughed too.
So, am I where I’d like to be with my fear issues? No, not quite yet. But, even if I still struggle (quite a bit) in some areas, the fact is I have come a long way. And…I think I’ve found some good resources to help me become the FEARMASTER it is my dream to become. On my birthday, I told my family that one thing was for certain. The next thirty “something” years of my life are going to be a lot more relaxed than the first.
After having seen 3 rather disappointing sequels (okay, prequels) to Star Wars I didn’t expect to be blown over by technology. But, the special effects in this movie are damn near SEEMLESS, and the plot is really cool too. That, and I absolutely LOVE the color blue:)
Something interesting happened in the theater that lined up pretty well with some recent thoughts. I’ve been reflecting quite a bit lately regarding where I’m at with my “fear issues,” and the truth is, I’m not all that happy with where things are at, or at least where they’ve been at. Really frustrating too, because for much of my adult life I’ve put a lot of effort into fighting fear. Granted, it is easy for anxiety to generalize, and watching a close loved one self-destruct, and then, whether intentional or not, ultimately succeed in that destruction is a bit much for anyone to handle. But, I also realize that my fears have brought me a lot of unnecessary stress, and well…pain. Sometimes fear can work to one’s advantage (e.g. totally kicking ass on my CIH exam) but usually that’s not the case. Usually we end up worrying about things for which worrying provides us no advantage, and we unnecessarily endure a very large amount of discomfort.
So what happened in the theater? Well, on my way back from using the restroom, as I was meandering past several enraptured theater-goers, I tripped. Not just a little trip, but one of those almost do a face plant types of trips. In catching myself (fortunately I did), I kind of pulled this girl’s hair, and then pulled back this other person’s seat about half-way down, and I may have even kicked somebody. Of course, I apologized profusely, but the main reason I’m sharing this story is because of what happened afterward. If something like that had happened when I was younger (actually, maybe even up until just a few years ago) I would have been MORTIFIED. Instead, I went back to my seat and enjoyed the rest of the show, with a big smile on my face. Now it is true that if I had needed to use the restroom again I would have gone the OTHER direction, but I think what happened says a lot about how far I’ve come with this fear thing. I even had a good laugh telling the story to my family as we left the theater, and of course they all laughed too.
So, am I where I’d like to be with my fear issues? No, not quite yet. But, even if I still struggle (quite a bit) in some areas, the fact is I have come a long way. And…I think I’ve found some good resources to help me become the FEARMASTER it is my dream to become. On my birthday, I told my family that one thing was for certain. The next thirty “something” years of my life are going to be a lot more relaxed than the first.
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