Sometimes bad things happen. When they do, it’s wise for us to allow them to serve as a reminder of prudent behavior. And part of prudent behavior is not getting overly panicked, either.

Let it serve as a reminder.

Today on Facebook there’s been a story circulating about a woman who had a sensitization reaction to essential oils.  It was posted as a reminder to use essential oils safely.  There has been some debate about whether or not the story was completely true, but that’s really beside the point.  (For our purposes.  Obviously, to her and her family/friends, it’s relevant.)

Sensitization can and does happen.  When essential oils are used properly, it’s rare.  But it happens.  When we hear about something like this, we should allow it to serve as a reminder that essential oils are highly-concentrated substances.  We should allow it to remind us to dilute properly, and all of those other things that enable us to use them safely and wisely.

But there is no need to panic.

We have a tendency as humans to get overly focused on the bad things that happen within our realm of experience, to the point that we sometimes blow them out of proportion.  There’s no need for that.

Think about it this way:

People are killed sometimes in car accidents. It is terribly unfortunate, but it happens.

We don’t stop driving, though. We don’t call for crazy legislation, like $10,000 license fees to be able to purchase a vehicle. We do, I hope, take prudent actions such as wearing our seat belts, and obeying applicable traffic laws so traffic can flow without undue confusion.