There’s something about Flannery O’Connor quotes that makes you stop mid-scroll and blink a few extra times. She never says what you want to hear, she says what you need to hear. And this one, well, it’s not a gentle thought. It’s a challenge. A dare.
We all have something chasing us. Maybe it’s fear. Maybe it’s guilt. Maybe it’s that one thing you keep saying you’ll deal with “after the weekend.” O’Connor doesn’t specify what “it” is, and that’s part of the genius. She’s talking about whatever you’ve let live rent-free in your mind.
Most of the time, the thing we’re running from isn’t as big as it feels. The monster under the bed usually shrinks under the light, but it doesn’t vanish on its own. You have to go get it. You have to do the uncomfortable work of confronting it. Otherwise, it festers.
Think about the last time you avoided something you knew you needed to face. Did it get better, or did it grow claws? Ignoring problems doesn’t make them disappear; it just gives them time to evolve.
There’s an energy to avoidance, it’s exhausting. We spend so much effort dodging hard things when, ironically, the moment we stop running is often the moment we feel free. O’Connor’s “hunt it down” doesn’t mean destroy yourself trying. It means stop pretending it’s not there.
Confronting the thing doesn’t have to be violent; sometimes it’s as quiet as admitting the truth out loud. I’m scared. I messed up. I need to start again. That’s how the hunt begins, with honesty.
And here’s the twist: once you face it, you realize it wasn’t the enemy. Fear, regret, failure, they’re not here to kill you. They’re here to teach you where your limits are, and how to push past them.
Today’s Thought of the Day reminds me that courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s the willingness to walk straight toward it, even when your legs shake.
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