The Journal Of The Nameless And Faceless

Entry 43: What are your fears?

Before I actually start writing anything I can't help but wonder what exactly is Webster's definition of fear... with a little research (closing this app and going to my Webster's dictionary app) I discovered;  Fear is an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.
That's the definition but what makes a fear? Is it naturally apart of our genetic makeup? Are we groomed to fear certain things? Think back to being a child where our fears were more irrational; fear or the monsters that hid in our closets or under our beds, fear of the dark, fear of the creepy crawling things of the earth. Now compare those to things we fear as adults; the fear of financial instability, the fear of tyranny, failure etc. The difference I find between most juvenile fears and adult fears is that as you grow older your fears are more so things you can strive to correct. You don't want to be financially unstable you get another job or elevate your education to put yourself in a better position. If failure is what you fear you work your ass off to be the best you can be. However as a child fearing the imaginary creatures of the dark that plague the night is tough to deal with, because only time will debunk those thoughts. You wake up one day and realize that you no longer have to say the toilet monster ritual because that's just silly.
But there's one more category of fears that transcends time and maturity. What about the fears you hang on to from childhood into adulthood? What about the phobias that you share with millions of other people around the world like; arachnophobia, acrophobia, trypophobia or the bane of my existence basophobia. A common ground between each of these phobias is nature. Everyone of these can be found throughout the most beautiful and intriguing places on earth. What if these phobias are natural and not actually as deep as we think. What if it's like that horrible Mark Walghberg movie where the plants were attacking the people mentally. Of course I don't mean it to that degree. The bushes outside my window didn't rustle and suddenly I have crippling anxiety at the top of a mountain but what if our fears are to limit the amount of people that screw with the planet? There has to be something to it right? What else could cause millions worldwide to fear the same things without necessarily having any basis for said fears? Are these fears justified because so many people share them? Are they just as outlandish as the boogeyman? Are these fears natural? What do you fear?