Amazon.com
I keep climbing, not only because I can’t back down without falling but because I feel so good all of a sudden. I faced my fears and won.
–If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska by Heather Lende
Amazon.com
“What we lack in education and experience, we more than make up for in gumption, and a willingness to put ourselves out there. We know a lot more today than we did a year ago, and each new lesson has empowered us with a deeper understanding of how capable we are, if we allow ourselves to simply learn, without fear.”
–Browsing Nature’s Aisles: A Year of Foraging for Wild Food in the Suburbs by Wendy Brown and Eric Brown
Amazon.com
“You’re doing fine, Cheryl,” he said. “Don’t worry about it too much. You’re green, but you’re tough. And tough is what matters the most out here. Not just anyone could do what you’re doing.”…He wasn’t tougher than me. No one was, I told myself, without believing it. I made it the mantra of those days; when I paused before yet another series of switchbacks or skidded down knee-jarring slopes, when patches of flesh peeled off my feet along with my socks, when I lay alone and lonely in my tent at night I asked, often out loud: Who is tougher than me? The answer was always the same, and even when I knew absolutely there was no way on this earth it was true, I said it anyway: No one.
–Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Amazon.com
It was a deal I’d made with myself months before and the only thing that allowed me to hike alone. I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me. Insisting on this story was a form of mind control, but for the most part, it worked. Every time I heard a sound of unknown origin or felt something horrible cohering in my imagination, I pushed it away. I simply did not let myself become afraid. Fear begets fear. Power begets power. I willed myself to beget power. And it wasn’t long before I actually wasn’t afraid. I was working too hard to be afraid.
–Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Amazon.com
Don’t ever believe that vampires are fearless. On the contrary. What happened to Casimir could happen to any vampire, at any time. When the whole world hates you, fear becomes your friend.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks
Amazon.com
Roly Poly, very small
not so frightened after all.
Sometimes new things can be fun
when you’re not the only one.Roly Poly, very small,
feeling better, feeling tall.
So much to see, so much to do…
So much nicer when it’s two!
–Roly Poly Pangolin, by Anna Dewdney
In the spirit of friendship, here are a few links:
In honor of Pangolins, here are a few more:
