The middle of last week I was out for an early dark thirty run through town. I was only about three minutes into my run when I started hearing dogs bark. I started looking towards where I heard the barks. After about thirty seconds I saw the first dog start towards me, then I saw the second dog start towards me, then I saw the third dog start towards me. I will refer to these three dogs as a wild pack of dogs just because it makes the story seem funnier.
The wild pack of dogs started running towards me while they were barking. I stopped and turned and hollered. The holler stopped them but then when I started running again they started to come after me. I decided to not be the prey but instead be the predator. I turned around, raised my hands over my head and started running full steam at them while I was screaming like a wild man. The wild pack of dogs tucked tail and took off running into the dark and didn’t come after me again.
While I finished my run I began thinking about the wild pack of dogs and our encounter with each other. The wild pack of dogs scared me because I was unsure of what they would do. Those dogs represented my fears of the unknown. I turned and hollered at them and then stopped for a moment but as soon as I turned back around to start again they started following me again. It wasn’t until I turned around and faced what I was scared of and ran full steam at it screaming like a wild man that my fear ran away.
I challenge each of us to remember that if we don’t turn and run at our fears like a wild man hollering and screaming they will keep chasing us until they run us down. They will run us down in the form of sadness, despair, depression, joylessness, exhaustion, and hopelessness.
What is scaring you?
Turn around today and go after your wild pack of dogs acting like a wild person at dark thirty in the morning hollering and screaming to chase those fears away for good.
Your Friend,
Aaron