Fear by Lachlan Cotter

Q: These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed? Put yourself in the shoes of the you who’s already lived your dream and write out the answers to the following:

Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? or the love you’ll never venture? or the joy you’ll never feel?

Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Or 10 weeks? Or 10 days? Or 10 minutes?

Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are?

Now Do. The Thing. You Fear.

A: If the topic is removing the Robert Moses Parkway, then the answer is yes, the blunder will matter in all of the times listed and the decades beyond. If the fear is being ridiculed, then the answer is no, it won't matter past the 10 minutes that smart the most. My fear is I won't be persuasive enough. My fear is the voice I promised to give to the flora and fauna that can't speak won't be clear enough or loud enough to matter to those indifferent to protecting them. My fear is I won't find the support I need from the people required. My fear is short-sighted vision will eclipse the wonder of Niagara's beautiful, unique botanical landscape. My fear is the inner knowledge I need isn't surfacing when I think it would benefit most. My fear is letting go and trusting the outcome. My fear is the outcome will be someone's destruction of something that matters deeply to me. My fear is that splitting crack a tree makes when it falls is really the sound of my soul echoing in the universe.