enough is enough

i have unofficially given 2009 the title, the year of conquering irrational fears.

recently i've come to the conclusion that the longer that i allow myself to be held captive by things that i either fear justfiably, or fear because of the unknown elements, the stronger their hold becomes over me.

case in point: the dentist. until thursday, it has been a lifetime since i've been to the dentist. after the very brutal root canal {post the traumatic youth group tobogganning accident}, then a very ugly wisdom teeth extraction experience, i figured i had had all i could take with those in the dental field. i could take care of my teeth. i brush. floss. do all the things the people do to take care of their teeth...except regular dental visits.

then, at some point over the past few weeks, i started thinking how irrational it was that i am not afraid to travel alone in europe, but to sit for an hour in a dentist's chair renders me spitless. but seriously, how much harder could a visit to the dentist be than having to wait alone in the entrance of the kiev/borispol airport by myself for seven hours after only two hours of sleep?

so, i booked an appointment, and went. {BTW, no cavities!} and realized that all the evil, scary, lurking things were bigger in my mind than they were in reality.

our minds do that. they make the scary things scarier, and the longer we go without confronting these things, the stronger their power over us becomes.

hence the year of conquering irrational fears.

what are you afraid of?