Pink Floyd Month - No 1.

His blood has frozen and curdled with fright
His knees have trembled and given way in the night
Song: Sorrow
Album: A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

This seemed like a good choice to kick off this series of posts inspired by the lyrics of Pink Floyd, given that it was hallowe'en yesterday. (Great party, by the way, thanks to every one that came along.)

This is supposed to be a very scary time of the year. It's getting dark earlier and earlier but it's not late enough in the year for our uneasiness to be soothed by all the Christmas lights and merriment. The weather contributes to the feeling with winds whistling through the towns and rain lashing against our windows. Add to that all the hallowe'en tales of ghouls & goblins and the bangs of fireworks and it's hardly surprising that some people don't like this time of year at all.

Not me, though. I'm not a very fearful person. I'm not afraid of spiders or mice - I've quite happily caught both in my bare hands in order to remove them from the house - and I don't mind the dark or open spaces or being alone or other things that people have phobias about.

That's not to say I'm completely fearless, however. I'm wary of walking home late at night through the woods and I sometimes get quite claustrophobic when I'm in a very busy pub. But they don't scare me - I wouldn't walk through the woods at night or go into busy pubs if they did.

Not having any deep fears may sound great but it can bring complications with it. If you're not afraid of anything then it can be hard to be understanding of the fears of others. After all, if you can see that a spider is just a little creature trying its best to get away from you and live its own life why is your boyfriend or girlfriend, wife or husband stood on top of a chair screeching as if their life is in danger? It's hard not to laugh at them for being so silly but you have to remember that, irrational though it may be, their fear is a very real thing and needs to handled with compassion.

What are you afraid of?