Opposites will always exist. Light and darkness, silence and sound, love and hatred, good and evil, wisdom and folly, panic and freedom. To understand and to appreciate one, we need to accept the other.
When I married my wife, my vows included the following: “For better, for worse , for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.” For my wife and I to remain in a healthy marriage, we must embrace these words. One cannot exist without the other.
When the daily prompt of “Panic” appeared on my computer screen, these truths of opposites flooded my mind. I began to think about the moments in my life when panic arose but then led to something new. For example, as a 20 year old away from home for the first time, I decided to purchase a new vehicle off of Craigslist. To make the long story short, I purchased a Acura Legend for $1800 (poor college kid here…) and after driving it home the engine was smoking and the temperature gauge was needling hot. In that moment panic struck. My brain was cursing and frustrated and even more so when I couldn’t get a hold of the seller via many phone calls and emails. However the initial panic escalated to problem solving which curtailed to self examination which ultimately taught me the lesson of never purchasing an item without thorough investigation. I am 28 now and have purchased four cars since and you guessed it… I have had no issues. Panic taught me a lesson. A good one.
Or what about the time my wife handed me a letter on Valentines day with a card that read, “There is enough love when it’s just you and me, but there is an abundance of it when there are three!”. At first it took me a minute to understand the riddle due to shock, but as soon as reality sunk in, pure joy and happiness exploded in my heart. Fast forward 8 months and 3 weeks with only a few weeks left until my son is due, and pure panic set in for the first time. In my mind, when you begin to purchase car seats, diapers, blankets, newborn clothes, closing out registries, sending thank you cards for baby showers, etc and all of a sudden the reality of taking care of this tiny human sinks in. Love provided an avenue to panic, but it led right back to love. I am now even more excited for my son since finalizing all what was needed for his arrival.
To end this daily prompt, I was to conclude by saying that all positive events and negative events in our lives must co-exist. It gives us a chance to live life.
-Fallingmanna 
fallingmanna 