There are so many fears in life: Those all too familiar fears from the past; present fears, some being sudden and intense, while other not so sudden and nagging; and the fears of the future, which we only hold a faint realization of, as they are not yet before us.

Those future fears, though faint as they may appear, often surprise us as having the strongest influence upon us. It is what causes worry and depression; and like a hot iron forged within the intense heat of burning coals ...brand us with marks of the very character of our beings.

The fear of the unknown is often diagnosed as the worst. The past cannot be changed. The present never remains the present, but the future always lies ahead ...and it contains the lies of whatever the unknown can conjure up.

What can be done to avoid being seared with the mark that burns within us ...penetrating that which protects our fragile exterior, while getting under our skin, and destroying the layers of our actual inner being? We need our skin ...it is what allows us to feel. And what allows us to feel is unquestionably one of the greatest things going for us. But what we feel ultimately, is not with our senses, but is rather a result of what lies beneath.

What happens if what lies beneath us is a lie, in itself? And don't we need to look beyond ourselves to really see what is beneath? Yes, this is where the unknown becomes known. This is where fear can penetrate the fog, and allow us to see the light that frees us.

It is the light that gives us clear vision, so we can see beyond fear ...to contentment, and dare I say, even the comfort of a shared joy.

There is a place where all fears meet: past, present, and future. Those fears meld all into one. But all the tenses of fear ...and senses of it, can be disspelled by simply trimming our lamps, and having enough oil to light our way.