As another butthole puckering election process once again thrusts itself against our collective conscience we find ourselves in the throes of what can only be defined as existential dread. We imagine a life under the cruel hand of “the other” and wonder how it is that we’ve come to this place. How can we go on? What will our lives look like?
The problem with modern life is that, in general, our hopes and fears have no real immediacy. We worry about retirement or what an authoritarian government will do or how our environment will survive. Yet we are still built to either fight or run from impending harm. Harm in the form of a saber-toothed tiger. We don’t have the evolutionary tools to deal with future worry. But humanity is adaptive so we create it. And when the worry is existential in nature, when the killer at the door is an abstraction, we revert to childhood. We pull the covers up and hope it goes away.
It always struck me how silly this practice was, even as a child. I would still do it, just like everyone, but I created a plan. I would lie in wait for the monster to lull him into complacency and when he was close enough I would strike. Always the aggressor. Hey, I grew up in the 80s with Arnold and Sly movies. And had a vivid imagination (as well as a healthy ego). If as a child we already understood the victim hood this would create, why do we engage in it as adults? Why do we avoid our problems?
It’s easy. It’s easy not to think about things and hope they go away. How’s that workin out for you? How did the easy way end up? Because what’s easy now only creates more difficulty long term. And facing your fears only gets harder and harder. Burying your head further under cover. And your fear grows stronger. It won’t just up and leave because it gets bored. Whether it’s debt or work deadlines or even an orange creature with an awe inspiring combover and a narcissistic inferiority complex.
So pull the covers from your head this morning and all of the difficult mornings ahead. Put your shoes on and go to work or work out or get your kids ready for their own challenges. The future isn’t written yet. Fight. Keep going. And don’t let the potential monsters drive you back into hiding. Because they aren’t going anywhere. And your fear only makes them stronger.
