Upsides to the Down Economy/ Fear and Love in Miami

   Last week, very close to the 20 year anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, South Florida prepared for another storm- Issac. For days,  TV was filled with coverage of the Tropical Storm and what residents needed to do to prepare, whipping us all into a fearful frenzy. Well, as it turned out, Issac was a wet, soggy mess, but not much else for those of us in Miami. I lost a banana tree that flopped over and had a bunch of branches, leaves, twigs scattered across the yard and pool. But it kind of made me mad, how the news stations feed on the fear of the citizens of Miami, many of whom lived through Hurricane Andrew and had already seen a Big, Bad Category 5 Hurricane. While I absolutely believe in preparing- buy what you need to buy, put up shutters if necessary, evacuate if ordered to do so- after that, what's the use of worrying? Do what you need to do and put the rest in God's hands.
   Some people say that Fear is the opposite of Love. There was an experiment where two jars were filled with cooked white rice, and sealed. One was labeled Fear, the other Love. The Fear jar was talked to about scary messages and set in front of disturbing videos. The Love jar was spoken to about how much it was loved and set in front of beautiful music playing. At the end of the experiment, the Fear jar of rice was brown and mushy, while the Love jar relatively white and clean.
   I am not sure if the opposite of Love is Fear, but I do believe some people make bad decisions and react defensively, when they are afraid. But fear can also be a great motivator. If you are overweight and afraid you won't live long enough to see your children grow up, you might decide to exercise, diet and get into shape. If you're getting older and are worrying about how you are going to support yourself when you retire, you might start saving and set up a retirement account. I suppose both these decisions could also be made because you love yourself, or your loved ones, enough to initiate a change. Change is another thing that makes us afraid. Sometimes, even when someone we know decides to change for the better, it is scary. It is easier to deal with a known quantity, even a dysfunctional or painful one, than to leap into uncharted territory.
   FDR said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Jillian Micheals says "You feel that pit in the bottom of your stomach? That is fear leaving your body." If we have faith, absolute faith, I suppose we would never be afraid, because we would know, like Bob Marley sings "Don't worry 'bout a thing, every little thing's gonna be alright."