“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”
(Marie Curie)

In many ways, this is a pie-in-the-sky quote. Nothing to be feared? Please.

Coming from Mrs. Radioactivity herself, however, it carries some truth.

Here was a pioneering woman whose mother died when she was 10, and who had to pursue an education in an underground school that actually admitted women. All Curie did with this education was to discover and use radium, invent the term “radioactivity,” and become the first woman to win a Nobel prize. (She later went on to win another one in a different field of science!)

Finally, this woman who gave us all the miracle of X-rays, CT scans, and radiation therapy, died from her continual exposure to all of the above. She carried around radioactive isotopes all her life, and to this day, her early papers (even her cookbook!) cannot be handled directly–too much radiation in the very pages themselves.

Madame Curie had plenty to be fearful of throughout her life, but instead she chose to approach it all with the spirit of her very name: curiosity.

Could we approach our fears the same way? Getting more curious and less “concerned?” Afraid your spouse is drifting away? Get curious about it. Is it really true? How does she respond when you ask her pointblank: Are you enjoying our marriage lately? Is there anything you wish I would do differently? How different are we from what you hoped for?

Don’t be needy or greedy when you ask; those are the manifestations of fear. Just be curious and caring.