chasing fear away

I'll always remember this one summer afternoon at the beach. I was surfing by a pier, the sky overhead was cloudless and azure blue. It really felt like summer. I was lying on my surfboard about twenty yards away from the shore, just past where the waves were breaking. It's easy to underestimate the ability of the current to tire you out, and I was taking a rest, just lying there, my arms dangling off the side of the board. 

Suddenly the water got very still and I felt a chill run through me. 

I thought I saw a large shadow pass under my board. To this day I don't know if I saw something or if it was my imagination, but it doesn't really matter. I came face to face with fear - lying on my board all alone in the ocean, helpless, with the company of some large fearsome fish - and I guess I've never been scared of sharks again. Strange, isn't it? Sooner or later you just get over fear, because you realize that if you don't, it will limit you. Danger is no less real once you encounter it, but you make the choice that you are willing to live with consequences. Playing card games isn't exciting without risk. Neither is life. I'm planning to visit a shark aquarium this summer.