Canceling your flight reservations for Thanksgiving? Thank you for throwing another log on the proverbial bonfire of paranoia that illuminates our world.
So why do we insist on living in fear? Well, I believe it is high time we take a look at the lasting impact our fears will have on our lives.
As I have observed, fear comes readily available in many degrees of irrational magnitude. On one end of the spectrum you've got your standard issue "pet peeves," moving along to the realm of obsessive-compulsive disorders and eventually landing us in a room lacking both windows and corners.
A great example of paranoia can be observed in John Madden, the announcer for the National Football League and his precious little "Madden Cruiser." For those who don't know, Madden, whom I believe is the inspiration for the "mute" button on our remotes, insists on driving across the country from one football stadium to the next in a handsomely equipped Winnebago due to his fear of air travel.
One would think that with all that time on his hands, he could come up with something a little more insightful to say than "Boom" during a professional football game, but that's a whole new can of worms.
Now I will admit, I have had my bouts of anal retention in my life. I feel comfortable admitting that I have "issues" with matters of tidiness, or the lack thereof. As many of my past roommates can attest to, if you leave dishes lying around in the common areas, you're entering a world of pain. In addition to that, I harbor a very healthy distaste for spiders of any kind, particularly the trap-door spider whom I'm told enjoys hunting humans for sport.
But what are the benefits of our paranoia? I mean come on, there must be some practical reason why we go to such great lengths, right?
Madden gets to enjoy the lovely drive across states such as Kansas, Texas and New Mexico. Now I do know for a fact that each of these states is very beautiful in some areas. However, I can think of body parts I would rather sacrifice than drive that route again!
In my case, despite the pending lawsuits, the population of outstanding dishes in my life has dramatically decreased, allowing me to sleep ever so comfortably at night.
Also, I am still working on my petition for the expatriation of all arachnids within a five-mile radius of my residence to somewhere more appropriate for their existence. Gary, Ind., is currently at the top of my list.
But I would like to challenge — no, I dare those of you who delight in your compulsive tendencies to tell me how it pays off in your life. How are you better off as a person for investing your time and effort into avoiding a certain mode of travel, a certain type of person or, in my case, species of animal?
Again using myself as an example, I have lived to cope with the occasional dish here and there, and I have taken to exterminating any spider that I can a very long pole on. I realize that I have a ways to go, but hey, you have to start somewhere, right?
But now as I am realizing that my days as your very most favorite columnist are limited, I find this as fitting a time as ever to inform you that I have found there is really no reason for any of us to live in fear.
Those who have read my columns with any sort of regularity should have noticed more than a couple references to God, whom I am convinced orchestrates all, loves all and who has endured more pain and suffering than any of us will ever have to.
It is through Him that I find my strength to get past life's trials, past life's fears, pushing through to a salvation that has been promised and paid for. All we need to do is ask.
I feel it is important to grasp the fact that there will always be those aspects of life that we find upsetting and those unknown details of our human existence that we find frightening. The answers to such things we will never discover as long as we continue to search for them with our eyes, rather than our hearts.
One thing that I am certainly not afraid of is sharing this information. Let me ask you, if you had in your possession what you believed to be the cure for all forms of cancer, would you not share it?
It is largely your decision how you will invest or spend your stay on this earth. It is entirely your decision how you will spend the rest of time, so I encourage you to at least search, for in this matter, ignorance will not be bliss, this I can guarantee.
The door to salvation is always open, as is the door to my e-mail account, so use them!
Michael Pameditis is a Christian Computer Science Engineering senior. Reach him at mike.pameditis@asu.edu.
