I’m a big fan of the honey badger, widely regarded as the most fearless creature on Earth. In my efforts to spit in the face of fear, there has been no better role model. Behold:
It’s been said that the honey badger doesn’t give a shit about anything. Some would say that’s not a positive attribute. But I choose to look at this with some tunnel vision.
Anyone with a soul — good or bad — cares about something. If you’re selfish you care about the things you want. If you’re better than that, you care about the people around you and do kind things every day. I sometimes slip into the former pattern, but I always try to set the latter example.
Still, there are things not worth caring about:
–How fat or thin someone is (unless you’re concerned for their health)
–Whether someone is gay or straight
–Whether someone is rich or poor
There are plenty more examples, but you get the picture.
I have my own list of things to not care about. It may not work for you, but it works for me:
–Whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow: It’s early February. We have six more weeks of winter no matter what the rodent sees.
–Who wins the Superbowl: If you’re passionate about football, more power to you. It’s never captured my affection, though. Whoever wins or loses, life will go on.
–Who wins the next presidential election: The older I get, the more I realize it doesn’t matter who gets elected. The only change that matters starts within you.
–Whether the priest is boring: My faith is in Jesus Christ. I’m not about to let the failings of human beings shake that. If I go to church, it’s to be with my God, not to be entertained by a priest, though an entertaining priest can be a good thing, too.
–Whether you like the new Van Halen album or not: I like it. That’s all that matters to me.
Have yourselves a fearless day.
