Day Sixty-Six- 3/7/11 Primal Screaming

Day Sixty-Six: 3/7/11
New Thing: Primal Screaming   
Inspiration: This Book Will Change Your Life and Paige  
Cost: $0   
Time: About 15 seconds.      
Bottom Line: That felt pretty good.

Reflection: As I mentioned yesterday, the family and I attended a very lovely dinner party hosted by Paige and Mike where she presented me with this great book called, This Book Will Change Your Life by two guys who call themselves "Benrik." (Thanks, Paige!!!) It is filled with little challenges that range from the funny to the sublime and back again. One was to practice a "Primal Scream" which I took to mean yelling as loud as I could for as long as I could (into a pillow so as not to wake Delia). I have to admit, this was very cathartic. I was even a light headed after trying it for a second time.

I don't think that I scream very much. Actually, one of my only true phobias is people shouting in lonely places like the woods or on empty streets. I can actually pin-point the exact moment when this fear started. I was in the woods with my father one day helping him survey a property owner's trees. It had been a long time since we had seen his business partner, Jim (who was working in a different part of the forest), and Dad was worried that he had gotten lost.  Now, these two men spent hours in the woods every day for their jobs, so the thought that one of them could get lost immediately made me nervous. Finally, when the sun started to set, my father cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs; "JIM.....JIM!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU??" The suppressed panic in Dad's voice and the sheer silence that answered his cries have haunted me ever since. I jut got goosebumps writing this actually.

Jim was absolutely fine and had been waiting for us back at the truck for hours.

Anyway, this was a good way to let go. Just please do not do it around me in the middle of the woods.