We Fear What We Do Not Understand

Things we do not understand scare us. It’s a Truth that has been known for eons.

“I see two letter Es,” said Cameron as he snuggled close, face buried in my throat, arms strangle-wrapped around my neck at bedtime. “Dragon keep me safe. No no letter Es. No want to, letter Es.” The dragon is an Ikea stuffie, a long dragon that hangs over his door. Most nights he says night night to the dragon. I’ve told Cameron it guards him and keeps him safe at night. Stupid me, thinking this would make him feel safe. No, it just introduced the idea that he might need something to keep him safe, that there might be unsafe things out there.

He knows about letters. He knows they’re important, we see them everywhere. My guess is that they’re mysterious and fill him with that curious feeling of anticipation and wonder … which because he does not understand makes him a little fearful.

I can’t wait until he learns about the power in letters. The real power in the written word. How letters combine to make words (we’re working on that concept), and words combine to communicate ideas, elicit emotions and capture the imagination. Soon enough, the fear and uncertainty will turn to, I hope, eagerness and understanding.