Thanks to some pre-referendum cajolery by Zalmay Khalilzad, America's ambassador, the Kurds and Shias have agreed that the constitution can still be tinkered with to soften Sunni fears.
Other factors that contributed to the growth have already appeared to soften, contributing to fears of another false dawn.
Together we learn to soften our judgement (fear) as we learn to accept the truths about love and fear, and accept ourselves and our partners for who we/they are.
In March King Abdullah and his council of ministers began a strategy to soften oil markets, fearing that lofty prices were bruising the world's economy and would hurt demand for oil in the long run.
The mood on Wall Street is part frustration (that the cut in compensation ratios, the charitable giving and so on have failed to soften hearts); part fear (over possible defections to hedge funds); and part anger (over what financiers see as the Obama administration's fanning of anti-bank sentiment).All three emotions were heightened this week.
After Sam came out, and in particular after the combine, many in and around the league began criticizing his game — much of the scrutiny coming anonymously — seemingly to soften the blow if, fearing the increased media attention, teams passed on him and he ultimately went undrafted.
Those familiar with the deliberations say the industry successfully convinced the Obama administration to soften the rules by sowing fears that a stricter approach would prompt Congress -- also the target of intense lobbying -- to step in and revoke the regulations altogether.
It ends up in every story, in every photo, and it seems to soften the questions -- although "Fear Factor" is still Topic A. "At what price victory?" asks a reporter in the Ritz-Carlton ballronm on Thursday morning.
Some Brussels insiders fear France and Germany may soften their approach after the vote.
My greatest hope is that we learn to soften the hard edges of fear in our personal lives — as well as in our collective life (and that we do so sooner, rather than later).
Yet all it takes to quiet the monster, is a gentle voice to say, "thanks for trying to protect me, but I've got this," and the fear starts to soften.
