What Fear Can Teach Us

We all have fears, some of which can be quite vivid for those with active imaginations. As children, we’re encouraged to think of fear as a weakness, something we must conquer, fight, or overcome. In this TED Talk, Karen Thompson Walker invites listeners to conceptualize their fears in a different way: as stories. Fear is an unintentional form of storytelling, she argues, with characters, plots, imagery, and elements of suspense. Drawing on the story of the men from the whaleship Essex, Walker challenges us to view ourselves as the authors and readers of our fears, and shares how this perspective can have a profound impact on our lives.

http://www.dailygood.org/story/1805/what-fear-can-teach-us-karen-thompson-walker/