on living with my fears

I read this story to my 5 year old granddaughter about seven years ago.

I would give credit to the author and even tell you the title of the book
but unfortunately I can't remember either.  The illustrations were good
but here you'll just have to use your imagination. These illustrations have
stayed with me so that I can picture the story as I tell it.

This is me telling the story remembering it the best I can.

~~~

Every year the wolves would come and the people in the village
would hide in their homes.

The wolves would sit outside the house and the people would stay
in their homes and wait until the wolves left.

One day a little boy looked out the window and saw a wolf in his
front yard.

The little boy walked over and opened the door and the wolf got
up and walked into the house and sat down in the living room.

The little boy then shut the door and went over and sat down
beside the wolf.

The wolf and the boy stayed together all of that winter before
the wolf left.

~~~

The little boy is us.

The wolf represents our fears.

If we face our fears head on, insteading hiding from them, but
rather invite them to live with us, then we are on our way to
conquering them.

~~~

Does this mean that we can actually conquer our fears.

For me the answer is no.

But taking steps to conquer our fears is better than hiding from them.

~~~

I am afraid of heights.  I will always be afraid of heights.
I will never try to conquer my fear of heights.

But sometimes if I face situations that I can conquer I try to conquer them.

Last year I tried to face up to a emotionally hurtful personal situation by
writing the names of the people involved on a 4 x 6 card in bold letters.
I then put it in a prominent place - one that would only be seen by me,
however.  Every time I looked at that card with the names of those people
that I was 'afraid' of, I became less 'frightened' of them.  Soon the situation
was more bearable, and eventually it was no longer a problem.

~~~

I had let the wolf in the door and allowed it to sit down beside me, instead
of hiding from it.

When I took that first step in conquering one fear, I knew that I could go on
to the next fear, and the next...

~~~

'I think over again my small adventures, my fears,
those small ones that seemed so big.  For all the vital
things I had to get and to reach.  And yet there is only
one great thing.  The only thing. 

To live to see the great day that dawns, and the Light
that fills the World.

                                                     ~Old Inuit Song
                                                       From the movie
                                                       Never Cry Wolf
                                                       (1983)