October 5, 2025
Every day, I like to take a Thought of the Day and a Question of the Day and hold them up to the light, turn them over, poke at them, see where they lead. Some days they’re fun, some days they’re heavy, and sometimes, like today, they’re both. Today’s pairing asks us to look at madness, fear, and the things we try not to admit out loud.
Thought of the Day: “We all go a little mad sometimes.” — Psycho
Norman Bates wasn’t exactly the kind of guy you’d want as your neighbor, but he wasn’t wrong about this one. Everyone loses their grip now and then. Sometimes it’s small, like yelling at the washing machine because it ate another sock. Other times, it’s bigger, like questioning the life choices that led you to standing in your kitchen at midnight eating peanut butter off a spoon while the cat judges you.
The truth is, “madness” doesn’t always mean padded rooms and sinister violins screeching in the background. Sometimes it’s stress that finally boils over. Sometimes it’s grief, or exhaustion, or just the human condition catching up with us. We all wobble. And maybe that’s okay. Maybe the occasional crack in the surface is what keeps us from shattering completely.
What I’ve noticed is that when I try too hard to pretend everything is fine, that’s when I come closest to unraveling. But if I admit that I’m having a rough day, if I laugh at myself for the tiny absurdities, if I give myself permission to be imperfect, it’s less “madness” and more… humanity.
If this Thought resonates with you, you might also enjoy my reflection on how people want you to do well, but not better than them. It’s another look at the fragile, messy ways we bump into each other as humans.
Question of the Day: What’s something you’re genuinely afraid of, but never admit to?
This one stings a little, doesn’t it? Because the easy answer is spiders. Or heights. Or clowns (which, let’s be honest, deserve a whole separate category). But that’s not what the question is asking. The question is asking about the fear you don’t say out loud, the one you’d rather cover up with a joke.
For me? I’ll admit it here: I’m afraid of wasting time. Not just in the “oops, I lost an hour scrolling” way, but in the “what if I blink and realize I spent my whole life doing things that didn’t matter” way. That fear sits deep, and it doesn’t usually come up in casual conversation.
Maybe for you it’s being forgotten. Or never really being understood. Or losing someone you love in a way you couldn’t stop. Those are the fears that live in the quiet corners, and they shape us even when we don’t talk about them.
I think about how different life would feel if we admitted these fears to each other more often. Maybe instead of feeling like weaknesses, they’d feel like shared humanity. Maybe the very things we hide are the things that would actually connect us.
If you’re thinking on this question, you might like my earlier post on the scariest movie you’ve ever seen. It’s lighter on the surface, but it touches the same theme: the things that frighten us reveal a lot about who we are.
Your Turn
So let me ask you directly: what’s something you’re genuinely afraid of, but never admit to? Leave a comment, I’d love to know I’m not the only one with peanut butter-at-midnight fears.
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