What to Do If You Run Into a Scary Monster

It's that time of year again. The time of creepy creatures, ghosts and goblins, and things that go bump in the night. Some monsters don't wait for Halloween, though - they come out year round.

They can sneak up on you at any time, and they come in all different shapes and sizes. Scary, right? Not if you know how to handle them.


I ran into a monster called MS, and it's been causing trouble for me for the last eleven years. At first I was frightened, but the longer I had to deal with this monster, the more I came to realize that fear was not my only option.

If you run into a monster:

Stare him down. It's like they say - you have to face your fears. You can't run away.

Be strong. Dealing with this condition made me find strength I never knew I had. Just like the horror movie heroine who battles the monster, I got to a point where I just refused to let fear take over. I didn't want this thing to have that much power over me.

Laugh in his face. MS may have ruined some things for me, but I won't let it keep me from enjoying my life. No matter what happens, we need to keep our spirits lifted, laugh often, and appreciate all the good things we have and that are around us.

Whether you have MS or some other monster problem, sometimes you have to overcome your fears and deal with it on your terms. I still get scared sometimes; it's not completely avoidable. But I always try to stay positive, and not let the monster "get" me.

Luckily, when it comes to all the little scary monsters who come to your front door on All Hallows' Eve (the best kind), you just need to give them some candy, and they'll go away.

A Little Lost

Sometimes I wish life came with a road map. It's easy to get lost on the journey through life when circumstances change or plans get derailed. You can find you've taken a wrong turn somewhere, and gotten off the main road on the way to your goals.


Or maybe you just feel lost because you don't know how to get out of a difficult situation.


To find our way again, sometimes we may need to:


Reconfirm our destination - Sometimes we may forget what it is we are after. We stray off the path toward our goals and dreams in favor of something else, or we get sidetracked by circumstances beyond our control. Sometimes we need to think about what it was we wanted, what we want now. Maybe our goals need to be re-evaluated, and our destination needs to change, or we just need to figure out a new way to get there.

Be willing to ask for directions. Asking for help isn't always easy, but sometimes we just can't get through something on our own. Reaching out for the help and support of others often yields very positive and surprising results. Sometimes the right advice from the right person is all we need to get back on the right path.

Explore the possibilities - Though we may feel we've lost our way sometimes, that can turn out to be a good thing. We can go exploring and maybe discover some new path to take. That's one of the great things about life - you can change it. You can always choose a new direction, a new goal.

Sometimes you may find you're not lost after all, instead you're right where you should be.