Dear Homer:
With respect to various fears and concerns I’ve had in life, including the concerns you have have about being in the woods at night, I have always found it helpful to consider the odds, the statistical probability or improbability of an event.
For example, millions of people fly in airplanes every day, without dying in one. Therefore, the odds against someone encountering a difficulty while flying are millions to one.
Same with driving a car; or crossing the street; or playing sports.
You speak of fear of being in the woods at night. I interpret that to mean you have a fear or concern that some particular event will occur. A bear will come, or perhaps, a bear will come, or perhaps worst of all, a bear will come. Whatever your concern is, the odds are probably against it ever happening to you, as rarely happening to people generally in the grand scheme of things. My method is to note the odds, accept the low probababilty of the event occurring, softened further by the realization that worrying won’t alter the probability one way or the other (athough proper precautions might), and go to sleep.
By the way, fear of the unknown is common. Once the thing becomes known, the fear dissapates. Trust that this will in fact happen.
And finally, remember this: We are all more alike than unalike. Therefore, if others can and have done a thing, so can you.
Sincerely–Conan.
Conan
