The Trepidation of Fire

 

trepidation - noun - a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen (Google).

As humans, we are all too familiar with the feeling of trepidation. The seemingly omnipresent pandemic has only served to pad the pockets of something already endemic in the human condition. I get it. But it just seems to me that some of us transcend common trepidation that is usually fleeting into something more egregious: obsessive apprehension that tends to be focused on one thing, the climate crisis, for instance.

Case in point: The other day, I spent some quality time with what we, meaning boomers, would have once termed "old fuddy-duddies, " senior citizens who spend an inordinate amount of time complaining, particularly about contemporary issues over which they have no control. Basically these people are female friends of mine.When I broached the topic of a potential move to L.A. from Jersey, one of the four piped up,"Why would you want to move there? What about the wild fires? Aren't you afraid of being caught up in one and having it destroy your entire life?" My answer was a decisive and resolute, "No. We live in New Jersey and have survived horrific hurricanes, fierce floods, burying blizzards, torturous tornadoes. We even had a Californian-style earthquake several years ago, if you recall. Taking all of these trepidatious natural hazards into consideration, I'd say it's much safer to live in Los Angeles." She disagreed, pointing out that death by fire would be much worse than death by water. Who said anything about dying? But okay, I gave her that one. Nevertheless, to stay at the apex of the argument (I couldn't let her win.), I simply summarized my death-defying past and told her that I can't live my life in fear of what the future will bring. After my harangue was over, either out of incomprehension or mere frustration, she shot me a grim grimace, and the topic segued into garrulous husbands, which I described at length two blog entries ago. 

Trepidation, albeit a trait that cannot be erased entirely from the human psychological playbook, can surely be averted via refusing to get caught up in it. Being present–staying in the moment–would definitely help if you are particularly prone to obsessive apprehension.  

The bottomline belongs to Charles Franklin: "No one gets out of this life alive." So enjoy each moment as it comes until you can't any longer. Lighten up and toss out trepidation. Your friends will thank you if you do.

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