Dear Friends,

I don't even really like the song that much.  I was born in '86, you see, and by the time by musical tastes had formed the cowbell had long been out of style (whatever SNL says).  But after hearing "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult a few times on the radio, the title line stuck in my head with that persistent resonation that certain phrases seem to carry.

It's hard to understand why things happen.  Circumstances frequently arise as if orchestrated to maximize pain, or irritation, or even irony.  At times, I feel as if there is a malevolent force wreaking havoc on my life.  I don't really think an evil spirit loosened the brakes on my bike; all I know is that when the cable sprang loose, it happened to be on the one day I was running late.

For some reason, I name that force--that unnameable entity which takes away and never gives back--the reaper.  The reaper represents all fear and anxiety; the reaper represents the unpredictable, heartbreaking pattern of loss that can so easily begin to define a life.  As a rock climber, I constantly witness other climbers back down from routes they are capable of climbing because they are afraid of what will be taken away if they fail.

In my own life, how many times have I left opportunity behind in fear of what could be taken?  My life, my health, my self-respect.

The ironic thing is that when I bypass those opportunities, I have stolen them from myself; in essence, I have become my own reaper.  The nature of fear is to cause one to enact that pattern of loss and perpetuate it until nothing but fear and loss remains.

For myself, I choose to act without fear.  I choose to face my life and the consequences of living with readiness and grace.  I choose to perpetuate different patterns--patterns of success, strength, and growth. My will is the weapon I was given.

Don't fear the reaper.

Dan