The Monster Under The Bed

In light of current events, I think I want to go into Naïve mode, turn off the news, and avoid news feeds. Ignorance is sometimes pretty blissful. It is somewhat comforting to think that the people we meet out in public, the people we work with, and even the neighbors that wave and smile back at you when you greet them, are just as they seem, Good, Normal, and harmless people.

The truth of the matter is that we live in a very scary world. We have had such protection in this country, unlike many third world countries where the citizens eat at the local restaurant or bistro with careful watching for anything suspicious, and are always at the ready to take cover in case of some sort of attack. Where we go about our lives in our naivety that all is well, and all people are good.

Reality is that that person in the store you just met and had a pleasant conversation with, who seemed so nice and friendly, or that co-worker that jokes around with everybody, and even that neighbor that seems to keep to their self, never causes trouble, and always seem so helpful, may very well be the Monster under the bed. Who hasn’t heard a news broadcast after a terrible tragedy, and the neighbors or co-workers when interviewed, say something like this: “He or She was such a good person, I would have never thought they were capable of something like this”

Monsters belong under the bed. How many nights we as a scared little kid, kept our ankles on the bed, and safely tucked under the covers (everybody know that monsters are attracted to ankles). But to a kid, that was the worst of it. When morning broke, we had the solid confidence that the monster was gone, not able to come out in daylight. We could spend our day doing all the fun things we loved to do.

As we become adults, we find that the monsters do come out in the day, and they are not afraid of light. They do more horrendous things than grab ankles, and this knowledge brings fear in our daytime lives, and we want the safety of the bed top, and snugly tucked covers to protect us from all this terror. I tried to teach my daughter when she was little that being brave in the face of danger is what will restrain the monster. So I would come in her room, never fearing that grisly beast, but would take him, and lock him in the closet, and I would let her throw away the key. I think I may have cured her fear of night time scary things, but I hope I instilled a confidence in her to stand up to the scary things in this world, to live with eyes wide open, and not to fear.

When we fear, the monsters win.