BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID

The title is intended to be the “hook” to get you to read this. Why would I choose that? Because it seems to me that many, very many, of us have become addicted to fear. 9/11/2001 kicked it into high gear, but it was there even before that. Some of the biggest money making films are based almost entirely on fear; horror movies, alien invasions, violence of many kinds. TV programs have adopted this same idea. Many shows are based on criminal acts of one kind or another. Then there are the “reality” shows. They focus on fear of failure: being voted out by your companions, coming in last in the race, getting fired, or risking pubic humiliation on stage by judges.

Maybe you consider all this merely entertainment. I disagree. Fear is one of the most contagious things in our world. Not only contagious, but virulent. It allows us to find someone or something to hate. Not only allows, but encourages. If your hate and fear is justified, then you are justified in using violence toward what or who you hate and fear. It also allows you to stroke your ego, convincing yourself that you are “better than” what it is you hate or fear.

Fear is a powerful tool that can be used by those who have an agenda they want to promote. It’s been said that frightened people are not thinking people; if you can make someone scared enough, you can make them do or believe anything. When we allow ourselves to immediately buy into whatever fear is being promoted, we become pawns, unconscious pawns that have no idea we are being used. This kind of fear mongering allows us to believe our fears are valid without ever having to rationally examine them.

Are there things in this world that a rational person should be afraid of? Of course there are, but not enough to justify wrapping yourself in a permanent cloak of fear. That kind of pervasive fear produces goblins and enemies when in fact they are not there. It also allows us to withhold compassion from anyone not in our immediate circle of comfort.

The next time you hear someone warning you of the dire consequences if _______ happens, take time to do some investigating and evaluating. Don’t simply accept that what they are saying is true.

The next time you find yourself worrying about something, (because worry is itself a form of fear) stop and think about it. How likely is it that what you are worrying about will happen? What can you do about it, at this moment? What can you do about it without resorting to violence, either physical or verbal?

Last, but definitely not least, find positive things to focus on. There are multiple opportunities every day to notice the positive. Start small if you need to. “It’s a beautiful, sunny day.” Set yourself a goal of finding X number of things every day that are positive. With a little practice, I think you’ll find it easy to move from the small things to the larger positive things in life.

Will all this magically make the bad things in the world disappear? Of course not. It will eliminate many of the irrational fears and produce more rational ways of dealing with the valid fears.