Fear and beauty.

[The Captain]

For some reason I've been musing on this a bit more than normal lately.

A few days back as I was waiting by my bus stop (it was pouring rain so I wasn't walking) a blind man came to the area with a cane.  He was tapping and feeling his way around the area.  I've seen this behavior with people training seeing eye dogs and it appears he was mentally mapping out his commute.

Mind you folks, completely blind.  On lower Wacker with cars coming off the Lake shore drive exit going upwards of 50mhp.   Drug addicts, alcoholics passed out on the sidewalk and homeless camps in a few areas.

Hell I can see and I get twitchy down there.  I can't even begin to imagine navigating that area without sight.  After watching that man navigate the area I don't think I can ever consider myself brave again.

...

Yep, afraid of heights.  Which makes it a bit ironic I've got an office on the 3rd highest floor in the building.  Fantastic view that I keep covered most of the time by pulling the blinds down.

Well we have a bit of sun today so I opened the blinds.  A spider has built a web right outside the window next to my desk.  21 stories up, constant wind currents, and no safety net should it make one small mis-step.

The spider and the web are beautiful, stunning, and terrifying all at the same time.  The fall perspective has to be much greater for such a small creature, yet there is goes calmly moving about the web adding shimmering strands.

I have a hard time leaning into the window inside and looking down to the ground below, yet that spider dances on it's web in the breeze on the outside and creates a thing of beauty.


No real point to be made here I guess, just some random thoughts.  

[NancysSummerSip]

<<Thinks The Captain's Musing Mojo is on overdrive today>>

[lexxy703]

I'm surprised the spider is that high up.  Do bugs likes flies fly that high to get tangled in the web?

I'm terrified of heights Captain.  I don't even like to look down from my second story deck.

[The Captain]

Jun 19, 2015 11:04:15 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

I'm surprised the spider is that high up.  Do bugs likes flies fly that high to get tangled in the web?

I'm terrified of heights Captain.  I don't even like to look down from my second story deck.

This is nothing.  Every now and then I take guests from out of town onto the Sears Tower skydeck and that's like 99 floors up.  I have some wonderful "friends" who pull me to the edge (*shudder*) and I've seen spider webs up there as well.

Often wondered the same thing myself about what kinds of bugs would be there, but the spiders are thriving on something?

[lexxy703]

Interesting.  I guess I've never really given it much thought.

I would have to unfriend anyone who pulled me to the edge.  Honestly I would probably tell the out of towners that I'd wait for them at the bottom.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Interesting post - the blind man, while you thought he was unfamiliar with the area, may very well have known what it was like.

It's said that if a person is blind, that their other senses are heightened or enhanced - hearing, smell, etc. (That would probably also include intuition).

He could also have had someone with him previously who walked him through/explained the layout and the type of area/people that were there.

A spider is unlikely to fall from its web. While the web looks delicate and frail, it can withstand high winds & rain, etc. The spider's secretion used to weave it is like silk cord attached to its body - so even if it "fell", it would still be connected to the web - sort of like a bungee cord.


.

[The Captain]

Jun 19, 2015 11:18:08 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

Interesting.  I guess I've never really given it much thought.

I would have to unfriend anyone who pulled me to the edge.  Honestly I would probably tell the out of towners that I'd wait for them at the bottom.

Yea, well these are friends who would show up with extra shovels at 2am in the morning, no questions asked, if you know what I mean.

Intellectually I know that window won't pop out if I get near it.  Emotionally is a whole nother kettle of fish.

I hyperventilate, then pass out.  They pick me up and carry me to the nearest bar and buy me a few drinks.  It's all good.

Seriously though, these are andrenaline junkies like DH.  They don't really know what fear is so I can understand why they think it's kinda funny.  I get all clingy and DH gets to have his inner caveman satisfied.  No, I never really let on how terrified I am.

We laugh about it afterwards when I kiss the ground.

[billisonboard]

How about a little music



I love the concept of " Quieting the fear ". 

[lexxy703]

Jun 19, 2015 11:36:14 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jun 19, 2015 11:18:08 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

Interesting.  I guess I've never really given it much thought.

I would have to unfriend anyone who pulled me to the edge.  Honestly I would probably tell the out of towners that I'd wait for them at the bottom.

Yea, well these are friends who would show up with extra shovels at 2am in the morning, no questions asked, if you know what I mean.

Intellectually I know that window won't pop out if I get near it.  Emotionally is a whole nother kettle of fish.

I hyperventilate, then pass out.  They pick me up and carry me to the nearest bar and buy me a few drinks.  It's all good.

Seriously though, these are andrenaline junkies like DH.  They don't really know what fear is so I can understand why they think it's kinda funny.  I get all clingy and DH gets to have his inner caveman satisfied.  No, I never really let on how terrified I am.

We laugh about it afterwards when I kiss the ground.

LMAO - I know the feeling. You should see my picture from the Grand Canyon. My ex wanted us with the canyon behind us. Turning my back on it even with a safety rail behind me took a ton of will power. The grimace on my face is epic.

[Virgil Showlion]

No real point to be made here I guess, just some random thoughts.

I think you're generally observing the fact that the things we're afraid of and the things we should be afraid of don't always match up.

For instance, the odds of a blind man getting mugged in that particular neighbourhood might well be negligible relative to the odds of an ordinary person experiencing a fatal slip and fall in a bathroom. Yet going to the bathroom is something we all have to do every day, and we don't consider people particularly brave for doing it.

The same paradox arises with spiders. The odds that a spider up in the corner will end up biting you, compounded with the odds that the bite would result in anything more than an itchy bump, are negligible. If a dead spider winds up in our food, we find it revolting, but it's just harmless protein. Compare this to the odds of getting food poisoning from a salad bar--which in some states and European countries is as high as 3% per sitting--and which is no laughing matter. Yet none of us are afraid of salad bars.

Fear is like any other emotion. It can be extremely irrational, and it takes a great deal of effort for the rational mind to prevail over it. Moreover, behavioural science has managed to prove quite conclusively that, as a species, we're lousy at risk assessment.

ETA: It occurs to me that I missed the most obvious example of all. Snow leopards are the most lethal man-killers of all time, and some sick people find them "cute". There's a total disconnect between reality and perception.

[The Captain]

Virgil Showlion

Ok. 

1.  Trust you to somehow manage to bring in and disparage snow leopards into a conversation that was really just an observation.  Really, just - really?

2.  I know you tend to be a bit more analytical than most (as I've been told am I) but just sit back for a moment and picture the scenes.  Don't try to logic them out, just be in the moment for, well, a moment.

Leave the statistics and facts at home.  Picture that web hundreds of feet above the ground shimmering in the wind and that tiny creature dancing among the threads completely oblivious to the danger or the fear of the person only a few feet away. 

Try to grasp the beauty that is the paradox of life that only inches separate one who is safe - yet terrified, from one who can perish at the snap of a thin thread (tensile strength not withstanding) moving with grace along thin lines of light.

I appreciate the beauty and symmetry of math and science.  However, the inconsistencies and paradoxes that is life is what truly captures my sense of wonder.

So much for my attempt to translate my thoughts into words, it would appear I'm not succeeding.

*Sigh*  Back to my spreadsheets.

[Opti]

Jun 19, 2015 11:04:15 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

I'm surprised the spider is that high up.  Do bugs likes flies fly that high to get tangled in the web?

I'm terrified of heights Captain.  I don't even like to look down from my second story deck.

If there are people in buildings, there are bugs. Have no idea how they get there, but there be bugs, in all stories, of Captain's building. Outside, no idea, but spiders are fearless and magical.

That's why I have a fear/respect/I might squish relationship with them. I find them hard to predict. Overall they seem equally likely to run towards you as away from you when you stomp your foot or shoo them.

My lizard ate a small spider recently that he saw on the bathroom tile floor. He saw it as lunch, I saw it as OMG, must watch lizard for food posoining... and how brave mr. lizard was. Turns out eating that type of spider seems to be safe, so I might train him as a spider hunter.

How do you like working downtown on Wacker Drive? I think my sib works downtown in the Loop somewhere.

[Opti]

Jun 19, 2015 11:08:42 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jun 19, 2015 11:04:15 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

I'm surprised the spider is that high up.  Do bugs likes flies fly that high to get tangled in the web?

I'm terrified of heights Captain.  I don't even like to look down from my second story deck.

This is nothing.  Every now and then I take guests from out of town onto the Sears Tower skydeck and that's like 99 floors up.  I have some wonderful "friends" who pull me to the edge (*shudder*) and I've seen spider webs up there as well.

Often wondered the same thing myself about what kinds of bugs would be there, but the spiders are thriving on something?

Don't let the visitors pull you to the edge. That's on you. Help take them up, and you can adopt my procedure. Stand appropriately away from the edge, trying not to note on the possible failings of the building's edge, like weak points in windows and cracks in the floor.

I don't think of England, but nice green places on the ground, or say, chocolate and frozen dairy free dessert.

[lexxy703]

Yet none of us are afraid of salad bars.

I'm not exactly "afraid" of salad bars but I steer clear of them & buffets.  They are petri dishes of germs.  Blech.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I'm a ham radio operator and know some blind hams. One I would occasionally see at a bus stop on his way home from work. I'd walk with him some and talk. His brother is also a blind ham.

[steff]

Jun 19, 2015 13:05:59 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Virgil Showlion

Ok. 

1.  Trust you to somehow manage to bring in and disparage snow leopards into a conversation that was really just an observation.  Really, just - really?

2.  I know you tend to be a bit more analytical than most (as I've been told am I) but just sit back for a moment and picture the scenes.  Don't try to logic them out, just be in the moment for, well, a moment.

Leave the statistics and facts at home.  Picture that web hundreds of feet above the ground shimmering in the wind and that tiny creature dancing among the threads completely oblivious to the danger or the fear of the person only a few feet away. 

Try to grasp the beauty that is the paradox of life that only inches separate one who is safe - yet terrified, from one who can perish at the snap of a thin thread (tensile strength not withstanding) moving with grace along thin lines of light.

I appreciate the beauty and symmetry of math and science.  However, the inconsistencies and paradoxes that is life is what truly captures my sense of wonder.

So much for my attempt to translate my thoughts into words, it would appear I'm not succeeding.

*Sigh*  Back to my spreadsheets.

I understand what you were trying to say. 

I'm terrified of heights, I have huge panic attacks when we ride up to the top of Stone Mountain, but once I'm up there, it's beautiful to look around.  I've wondered if it's so beautiful because my fear is so high in that moment.  Just when I'm finally getting comfortable  up there, it's time to ride the gondola back down & the panic attack starts again.

When we took our vacation to the Blue Ridge parkway my opinion of that vacation is:  so much beauty intermixed with moments of pure terror.  The rail on the side of the road is so small, so low, and the drop off so damn high, but the view....OMG the view.  I can't tell you how relieved, yet seriously disappointed I was when our climb to the top of Grandfather Mountain was cancelled because of the fog.  I in no way wanted to make that climb up, but I really wanted to see the view. 


But no matter how pretty the water is.....I'm not getting in.  Nope, not happening.  That fear is too strong to work thru. 

[Opti]

Don't try to logic them out, just be in the moment for, well, a moment.

Leave the statistics and facts at home. Picture that web hundreds of feet above the ground shimmering in the wind and that tiny creature dancing among the threads completely oblivious to the danger or the fear of the person only a few feet away.

Try to grasp the beauty that is the paradox of life that only inches separate one who is safe - yet terrified, from one who can perish at the snap of a thin thread (tensile strength not withstanding) moving with grace along thin lines of light.

This captures of the essence of why I drive a BMW and took it to the track. The tiny creature likely does know. But does it anyway. It is a spider, it has a web, its the real thing. Spiderman, is the dream of what it might be like to be a spider and be human MHO.

(FWIW, there's a documentary on the Lemurs of Madagascar somewhere. They are so cool. They bounce like Tigger and fly from tree to tree.

I think I would find it fun to be a Madagascar Lemur for awhile.

I am a degreed electrical engineer, concentrated on hw & sw.

Commence Virgil hates Lemurs in 3 2 ... )

P.S. Must get ready for my shift. BMW is called the Ultimate Driving Machine. For drivers who like pushing the edge and seeing what they can do.

[Tiny]

Jun 19, 2015 11:08:42 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jun 19, 2015 11:04:15 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

I'm surprised the spider is that high up.  Do bugs likes flies fly that high to get tangled in the web?

I'm terrified of heights Captain.  I don't even like to look down from my second story deck.

This is nothing.  Every now and then I take guests from out of town onto the Sears Tower skydeck and that's like 99 floors up.  I have some wonderful "friends" who pull me to the edge (*shudder*) and I've seen spider webs up there as well.

Often wondered the same thing myself about what kinds of bugs would be there, but the spiders are thriving on something?

When I worked atop the Prudential building 39th floor (not Pru 2) the windows on the Grant Park and Michigan Ave sides would be covered with webs.   There is an influx of little gnatty like bugs that would ride the wind? get blown? up into the webs.  Also saw a moth or two.  And, spiders also seem to be cannibals.       Way back then I worked alot of hours so sometimes saw a sunset and a sunrise... me and my coworkers found the spiders/webs entertaining - especially after being awake for more than 24 hours.


When I worked mid way up the Ogilvie Transportation Center - there were spiders  in the corners of some of the windows there too. 

The last couple of buildings I've worked in have had very smooth 'skins' with huge plate glass windows.   There may be spiders in the corners - but they are much harder to spot.     

[Tiny]

Jun 19, 2015 13:05:59 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Virgil Showlion

Ok. 

1.  Trust you to somehow manage to bring in and disparage snow leopards into a conversation that was really just an observation.  Really, just - really?

2.  I know you tend to be a bit more analytical than most (as I've been told am I) but just sit back for a moment and picture the scenes.  Don't try to logic them out, just be in the moment for, well, a moment.

Leave the statistics and facts at home.  Picture that web hundreds of feet above the ground shimmering in the wind and that tiny creature dancing among the threads completely oblivious to the danger or the fear of the person only a few feet away. 

Try to grasp the beauty that is the paradox of life that only inches separate one who is safe - yet terrified, from one who can perish at the snap of a thin thread (tensile strength not withstanding) moving with grace along thin lines of light.

I appreciate the beauty and symmetry of math and science.  However, the inconsistencies and paradoxes that is life is what truly captures my sense of wonder.

So much for my attempt to translate my thoughts into words, it would appear I'm not succeeding.

*Sigh*  Back to my spreadsheets.

And apply that tenuous grasp/shortness of our time here on Earth... in a universe filled with a hundred billion galaxies which has existed for 12 -14 billion years (by current science) and suddenly washing the dinner dishes becomes an amazement.

[Virgil Showlion]

Jun 19, 2015 13:05:59 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Virgil Showlion

Ok. 

1.  Trust you to somehow manage to bring in and disparage snow leopards into a conversation that was really just an observation.  Really, just - really?

2.  I know you tend to be a bit more analytical than most (as I've been told am I) but just sit back for a moment and picture the scenes.  Don't try to logic them out, just be in the moment for, well, a moment.

Leave the statistics and facts at home.  Picture that web hundreds of feet above the ground shimmering in the wind and that tiny creature dancing among the threads completely oblivious to the danger or the fear of the person only a few feet away. 

Try to grasp the beauty that is the paradox of life that only inches separate one who is safe - yet terrified, from one who can perish at the snap of a thin thread (tensile strength not withstanding) moving with grace along thin lines of light.

I appreciate the beauty and symmetry of math and science.  However, the inconsistencies and paradoxes that is life is what truly captures my sense of wonder.

So much for my attempt to translate my thoughts into words, it would appear I'm not succeeding.

*Sigh*  Back to my spreadsheets.

1. There is no wrong time to disparage snow leopards.

2. I understand you were feeling wistful and contemplative. What I got out of the OP was your amazement that you experienced fear where the blind man and the spider experienced none.

To me that naturally raises the question: Why does their fearlessness amaze you? And my response, in a nutshell, is that they have a rational, measured perception of those particular fears, and most of us don't.

In short, I saw a question lurking there, and it was my attempt to answer it.

A more right-brained response would be: You ka-rayzee, girl!  (@___@) --=)

[The Captain]

Jun 19, 2015 13:18:22 GMT -5 Opti said:

Jun 19, 2015 11:04:15 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

I'm surprised the spider is that high up.  Do bugs likes flies fly that high to get tangled in the web?

I'm terrified of heights Captain.  I don't even like to look down from my second story deck.

If there are people in buildings, there are bugs. Have no idea how they get there, but there be bugs, in all stories, of Captain's building. Outside, no idea, but spiders are fearless and magical.

That's why I have a fear/respect/I might squish relationship with them. I find them hard to predict. Overall they seem equally likely to run towards you as away from you when you stomp your foot or shoo them.

My lizard ate a small spider recently that he saw on the bathroom tile floor. He saw it as lunch, I saw it as OMG, must watch lizard for food posoining... and how brave mr. lizard was. Turns out eating that type of spider seems to be safe, so I might train him as a spider hunter.

How do you like working downtown on Wacker Drive? I think my sib works downtown in the Loop somewhere.

 

I actually work on Michigan Avenue, I walk to the stop on Wacker.

Love the energy.  Prices are crazy expensive which is why I brown bag it most of the time.  I mean seriously, $4 for 12 oz. of soup?  I can make a whole batch of veggie soup for that much. 

It's cool to be able to walk to the farmer's markets and festivals during the summer.

Chicago architecture is awesome.  I work in a historic building and can see several others from different windows on my floor.

The walk to the train station gets a bit - wearing (when I don't take the bus).  No matter what route I take there is no less than a dozen panhandlers I pass asking for money.  Every day.  I've seen the guy buying 5ths at the CVS one day, back out with a sign "Hungry need food" the next. I don't like to dismiss them, but know in most cases cash does more harm than good. Don't have an answer here.

[Deleted]

I just got done reading The Good Girl and they mentioned Wacker. Just a random fact ...need to find that book thread. I also dislike heights. 

[toomuchreality]

So is it just me?  I too am afraid of heights. Yet when I get on a bridge, overpass or any other area with some height to it, I have to fight the urge to drive/jump off!  What's up with that!?!?

I'm also very afraid of spiders. But I'm never drawn to them. The last thing I want, is for one to touch me! 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

The edge of the Sears Tower observatory is nothing.  The elevator ride up is terrifying, as is the ride down, but then you get to leave the building and maybe never return.  

Try working in the Sears Tower.  I did in the late 80s and early 90s.  77th floor.  The wind always howls near the windows.  During heavy winds, the damn tower sways (and creaks!!) with the wind.  Often, I would sit very still during storms and just wait for the inevitable -- the top half of the building to break off and plunge us all to our certain deaths.  

I lived in a high-rise along the river less than a block off of Michigan.  The Wrigley Building clock was my 24/7 living room clock.  

Sigh. I LOVED living in Chicago.  You're absolutely right -- the downtown energy pulses (or maybe it was because I was young and single, LOL).  I want to come back and visit but it won't ever feel the same.  

[Opti]

Jun 19, 2015 16:38:29 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jun 19, 2015 13:18:22 GMT -5 Opti said:

If there are people in buildings, there are bugs. Have no idea how they get there, but there be bugs, in all stories, of Captain's building. Outside, no idea, but spiders are fearless and magical.

That's why I have a fear/respect/I might squish relationship with them. I find them hard to predict. Overall they seem equally likely to run towards you as away from you when you stomp your foot or shoo them.

My lizard ate a small spider recently that he saw on the bathroom tile floor. He saw it as lunch, I saw it as OMG, must watch lizard for food posoining... and how brave mr. lizard was. Turns out eating that type of spider seems to be safe, so I might train him as a spider hunter.

How do you like working downtown on Wacker Drive? I think my sib works downtown in the Loop somewhere.

 

I actually work on Michigan Avenue, I walk to the stop on Wacker.

Love the energy.  Prices are crazy expensive which is why I brown bag it most of the time.  I mean seriously, $4 for 12 oz. of soup?  I can make a whole batch of veggie soup for that much. 

It's cool to be able to walk to the farmer's markets and festivals during the summer.

Chicago architecture is awesome.  I work in a historic building and can see several others from different windows on my floor.

The walk to the train station gets a bit - wearing (when I don't take the bus).  No matter what route I take there is no less than a dozen panhandlers I pass asking for money.  Every day.  I've seen the guy buying 5ths at the CVS one day, back out with a sign "Hungry need food" the next. I don't like to dismiss them, but know in most cases cash does more harm than good. Don't have an answer here.

Nice. I've mostly driven through. I'd like to actually walk and shop the cool areas. I love that kind of stuff.

Between ages 17 to 15 I drove into the city for various things/reasons. I used to go to the Land's End outlet until they were kind enough to start creating some in the northwest burbs. Went to Univ. of Illinios - Chicago campus one summer to pick up a Physics course, and have been to the aquarium, museum, etc.

(Thirty to 38 years ago if you are counting. )

Michigan Ave. must be sweet. I think my Mom took me and my cello around there somewhere for tuning,

summer & winter bridges, etc.

[flamingo]

Jun 19, 2015 16:38:29 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jun 19, 2015 13:18:22 GMT -5 Opti said:

If there are people in buildings, there are bugs. Have no idea how they get there, but there be bugs, in all stories, of Captain's building. Outside, no idea, but spiders are fearless and magical.

That's why I have a fear/respect/I might squish relationship with them. I find them hard to predict. Overall they seem equally likely to run towards you as away from you when you stomp your foot or shoo them.

My lizard ate a small spider recently that he saw on the bathroom tile floor. He saw it as lunch, I saw it as OMG, must watch lizard for food posoining... and how brave mr. lizard was. Turns out eating that type of spider seems to be safe, so I might train him as a spider hunter.

How do you like working downtown on Wacker Drive? I think my sib works downtown in the Loop somewhere.

 

I actually work on Michigan Avenue, I walk to the stop on Wacker.

Love the energy.  Prices are crazy expensive which is why I brown bag it most of the time.  I mean seriously, $4 for 12 oz. of soup?  I can make a whole batch of veggie soup for that much. 

It's cool to be able to walk to the farmer's markets and festivals during the summer.

Chicago architecture is awesome.  I work in a historic building and can see several others from different windows on my floor.

The walk to the train station gets a bit - wearing (when I don't take the bus).  No matter what route I take there is no less than a dozen panhandlers I pass asking for money.  Every day.  I've seen the guy buying 5ths at the CVS one day, back out with a sign "Hungry need food" the next. I don't like to dismiss them, but know in most cases cash does more harm than good. Don't have an answer here.

I live and work downtown. I'm pretty sure I know that panhandler. Along with about a dozen others. Some of them talk to me-as in, Hi, how are you, have a nice day. Not, can you spare some change. It definitely is weary-ing. 
And $4 for soup is nothing-there is a new salad place that just opened near my work. The cheapest TAKEOUT salad? $10 (plus our awesome 9.25% tax!). And people wonder why I bring my lunch so often!! 

[weltschmerz]

Jun 19, 2015 13:24:43 GMT -5 steff said:

Jun 19, 2015 13:05:59 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Virgil Showlion

Ok. 

1.  Trust you to somehow manage to bring in and disparage snow leopards into a conversation that was really just an observation.  Really, just - really?

2.  I know you tend to be a bit more analytical than most (as I've been told am I) but just sit back for a moment and picture the scenes.  Don't try to logic them out, just be in the moment for, well, a moment.

Leave the statistics and facts at home.  Picture that web hundreds of feet above the ground shimmering in the wind and that tiny creature dancing among the threads completely oblivious to the danger or the fear of the person only a few feet away. 

Try to grasp the beauty that is the paradox of life that only inches separate one who is safe - yet terrified, from one who can perish at the snap of a thin thread (tensile strength not withstanding) moving with grace along thin lines of light.

I appreciate the beauty and symmetry of math and science.  However, the inconsistencies and paradoxes that is life is what truly captures my sense of wonder.

So much for my attempt to translate my thoughts into words, it would appear I'm not succeeding.

*Sigh*  Back to my spreadsheets.

I understand what you were trying to say. 

I'm terrified of heights, I have huge panic attacks when we ride up to the top of Stone Mountain, but once I'm up there, it's beautiful to look around.  I've wondered if it's so beautiful because my fear is so high in that moment.  Just when I'm finally getting comfortable  up there, it's time to ride the gondola back down & the panic attack starts again.

When we took our vacation to the Blue Ridge parkway my opinion of that vacation is:  so much beauty intermixed with moments of pure terror.  The rail on the side of the road is so small, so low, and the drop off so damn high, but the view....OMG the view.  I can't tell you how relieved, yet seriously disappointed I was when our climb to the top of Grandfather Mountain was cancelled because of the fog.  I in no way wanted to make that climb up, but I really wanted to see the view. 


But no matter how pretty the water is.....I'm not getting in.  Nope, not happening.  That fear is too strong to work thru. 

What water, steff? Lakes? Rivers? The ocean?

[steff]

Jun 22, 2015 11:50:18 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Jun 19, 2015 13:24:43 GMT -5 steff said:

I understand what you were trying to say. 

I'm terrified of heights, I have huge panic attacks when we ride up to the top of Stone Mountain, but once I'm up there, it's beautiful to look around.  I've wondered if it's so beautiful because my fear is so high in that moment.  Just when I'm finally getting comfortable  up there, it's time to ride the gondola back down & the panic attack starts again.

When we took our vacation to the Blue Ridge parkway my opinion of that vacation is:  so much beauty intermixed with moments of pure terror.  The rail on the side of the road is so small, so low, and the drop off so damn high, but the view....OMG the view.  I can't tell you how relieved, yet seriously disappointed I was when our climb to the top of Grandfather Mountain was cancelled because of the fog.  I in no way wanted to make that climb up, but I really wanted to see the view. 


But no matter how pretty the water is.....I'm not getting in.  Nope, not happening.  That fear is too strong to work thru. 

What water, steff? Lakes? Rivers? The ocean?

I'll go in up to shin deep but no further than that.  To be honest, I don't like pools either.  Deep water terrifies me, even if I can see the bottom.  I'm also so white I glow in the dark, so I burn in about 20 minutes, so staying away from water has always been easy. 

[weltschmerz]

Jun 22, 2015 12:09:23 GMT -5 steff said:

Jun 22, 2015 11:50:18 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

What water, steff? Lakes? Rivers? The ocean?

I'll go in up to shin deep but no further than that.  To be honest, I don't like pools either.  Deep water terrifies me, even if I can see the bottom.  I'm also so white I glow in the dark, so I burn in about 20 minutes, so staying away from water has always been easy. 

Ahhh...so if you ever visit, we won't go canoeing or kayaking, I take it? That's too bad.

Oh well! Plenty of other things to do.

[Virgil Showlion]

Heights used to bother me. But then I discovered that I'm immortal and I can fly, so now they're no big worry.

The moral of the story is that knowing more about yourself can help you overcome your fears.