This morning a fellow artist posted a meme about fear.

Hmmm, thinking about this … I think, when it comes to fear, depending upon your stage in life, fear can change …

Imagine a young person just moving out of a loving, secure home facing the exciting world of adulthood and freedom, full of hope. As long as the world treats them well they might live a life without fear.

Imagine that same person later in life, beaten down by the fears that their youthful hopes have become impossible dreams.

Then, imagine that person in older age. Is there really much point in looking forward when those dreams of your youth are no longer realistic. And there is no going back. All we can really do is pass on our experiences and our stories in the hope that we might help someone else along their path. For that we need Intergenerational contact. Otherwise, what is there to live for?

If I were to have a dialogue with a younger artist what could I say about fear?

And if that younger artist were me, if I could reach back in time and talk to myself, what might I say?

So what might I say?

I might tell that younger person to be very, very afraid of things like injustice and greed. I’d probably tell her not to run away from these but to fight back, to not ignore negative messages, hoping things might get better.

I’d tell her to not be afraid to stand up for her own beliefs, especially in the face of bullying. As for abuse or violence or revenge, I’d tell her to walk away from these, not in fear but in gratitude that she is able to recognize and avoid such paths.

Most of all, I’d tell her she needs nobody’s permission to call herself an artist.