Afraid? No, not I

There is a wonderful poem of Dr. Maya Angelou that I don’t come across very often but encapsulates my state of mind on good days, and manifests the hesitation that every writer has at the beginning of a project:

Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don’t frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn’t frighten me at all.

I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won’t cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild

Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don’t frighten me at all.

That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don’t frighten me at all.

Don’t show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I’m afraid at all
It’s only in my dreams.

I’ve got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all. 
– Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, Dr. Maya Angelou

I stopped believing in lucky charms once I realised that luck is truly in our hands. We sow what we reap, and sometimes, what we consider “lucky” is really Life returning the favour we once did for someone else at some point. Kindness, compassion, generosity, a helping hand, a guiding light always return in some shape or form. In the same manner, heavy burdens or huge challenges are nothing to be afraid of if your courage, strength and faith remain unwavering.

Believe in yourself, the journey you are on, and let Life not frighten the fighting spirit out of you.