Facing a Fear

“On our darkest day 
When we're miles away 
So we'll come 
We will find our way home 

If you're lost and alone 
Or you're sinking like a stone 
Carry on 
May your past be the sound 
Of your feet upon the ground 
Carry on, carry on, carry on” 

I used to get scared when I was alone at night. I asked a good friend of mine, Colleen Downey, (who confided that she used to experience the same feeling) how she managed to overcome her fear. She told me that one night it just dawned on her that she is never actually alone.

There are over seven billion people in the world tonight. No matter how I feel — happy or sad, scared or angry, lost or alone (or sinking like a stone) — somebody out there has felt the same way before at some time. This person may even feel how I am feeling right now. Songs like, “Cary On” by Fun, remind us that we are not alone and encourage us to remain hopeful.

Then, instead of thinking about how scared and alone I feel, I think about all of the people who love me. I think about my friends and my family. I go through the list one by one, and I visualize what each of them might be doing at this moment. Watching TV, laughing over a beer with friends, playing a board game at a comic book shop, returning from a long day at work to an empty house… By the time I get through that list, I don’t feel alone or scared any longer.

So I dedicate this song to Jon, who is about to go through another brutal round of chemotherapy. And I dedicate it to anyone out there tonight who might need to be reminded that we are never really alone — simply because we are all human.


Do not worry, love. I am here.

Please consider donating. Even if it is only five dollars, every little bit will help Jon and his family pay for medical costs as he continues to battle Burkitt's Lymphoma.

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