what's in a name

name something and it no longer holds power over you. that's the lesson i first learned from Harry Potter. yes. yes i read HP. i also read the Huffington Post so i feel that it balances out. when Harry uses Voldemort's name out loud, he stripped it of fear.

i discovered last week that i have a mouse in my (subletted) house. i couldn't sleep all night after seeing it skitter across the floor. my bed is on the floor. the next day i just got mad about it. i referred to it as "that effing mouse" and suddenly he had a name. Effen.  almost immediately i wasn't afraid of him anymore. Effen and i have been happily cohabitating for a week now. 

other things in life go unspoken and maintain a hold with that unnamed fear. call it what it is. say it out loud to someone you trust. maybe not all at once, but slowly Voldemort will lose his hold. my dear friend reminded me this morning..."keep in mind, Harry defeated Voldemort in the end".

now where did i put my wand...