First of all, this is a badass song by Iron Maiden. Aside from that, a
legitimate fear that, sooner or later, everyone experiences. The dark
on its own might not be too frightening because it’s just a black mass
that sits there and doesn’t do a whole lot. There’s a lot more to it
than just that though.
This fear can be directly related to
claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces) or just not knowing what’s
lurking amongst the shadows. And really, that’s the scariest part; not
knowing what could be surrounding you in the darkness. Sure, it might
just be a few spiders or dust bunnies today, but tomorrow it might
be the ghost of an axe murderer. See what I mean about the dark?
Fear of the dark never really goes away. You can turn on a
nightlight, sure, but then that just makes those creepy shadows that
seem to follow you wherever you go. So you hide under the covers where
it’s even darker because irony is important to you. But what else can
you do? If you stand up to turn on the light you risk being pulled into
the closet by a demon or having someone grab your ankles from under the
bed. During the day, the sun is shining, people are happy (and visible)
and everything in the world seems great. Then it hits a certain point
when everything changes. The sun sets, people seem terrifying (the ones
you can see, anyway) and it’s like everything around you that was made
out of smiles turns into a sinister clown with hooks instead of hands.
It’s just the worst.
So what can you do about this fear? You can’t just live your life
afraid of the dark because I’m pretty sure it’s unavoidable. Unless you
live in a room with just four walls, no windows and bought
enough industrial-powered lights to burn your retinas any time you were
feeling so inclined. But that’s not a lifestyle that’s particularly
healthy, so I wouldn’t recommend doing that unless your options were
between that and living in a hornets’ nest. But really, how often does
it come down to those two? More often than you would think. So it’s time
to face your fear and embrace the darkness for what it really is:
Absolutely nothing.
There’s a reason why the flashlight was invented. It’s because since
the dawn of time, man has feared the dark. That’s why cavemen invented
fire or something like that. And that’s why there are lights everywhere
you go. No one wants to be in the dark. People can say it’s for safety
reasons, or convenience, but the truth is everyone is just afraid. If
you are in a situation where you can’t see your hand in front of your
face, there are ways to drastically improve said situation. For example,
you have a phone. Use it. Not to make calls or text someone, but use
the light from the screen as an impromptu flashlight. Unless your phone
has a built-in flashlight. Then by all means, use that. Or, if you live
in the 1500′s, light a candle and go to the nearest saloon.
The dark is scary. You don’t know what’s going on in there and you
can’t exactly just walk into sheer darkness and expect nothing is going
to happen. The dark is everywhere and is almost unavoidable. However,
the dark is easily conquered thanks to the light which also happens to
be everywhere at the same time. All you have to do is introduce the
light to the dark. The two of them fight for a bit then the dark either
gets up and leaves until the light gets bored and leaves too. Or they
co-exist in harmony. That’s how shadows are born. Oh, and if you are
wondering “How can two opposite ends of the spectrum both be everywhere
at the same time?” Shut up, that’s how.
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