Oh no! what is that?

Fear
In a nutshell “The perceived possibility of harm”.
 It’s funny how with age this little thing governs how we live. We are told we mature with age. Wine matures with age, humans just become risk averse.

As a child, I vaguely remember, I once lit my finger on fire. My mother remembers it more vividly, this incidence. She was in the kitchen fixing supper and I walk out of the room where the house alter was and proudly held out my index finger lit up like a candle! I remember being excited and happy that I “carried fire”. She ran and blew it off and held it under the sink which is when the realization of harm kicked in and I started to cry. I ask myself this once again today, why have I never done this “carry the fire” ritual ever since?
Psychology defines fear as an emotion experienced in anticipation or awareness of danger, and it can be real or imagined. This is where it gets interesting to a certain degree. If the danger is truly present, it’s something that can save your butt. It makes you choose to avoid that unnecessary risk. But it is the same emotion that will shackle you where you stand. As I write this I constantly think of this example – say you come across a viper coiled and ready to snap, fear? Sure, snakes trigger that emotion in all primates. What do we do? Avoid it? Of course! Unless you’re trained to handle it. Woah another dimension of mitigating fear of harm through practice and training. That sounds like another topic for another day.
Ok, Focus, a viper, a snappy viper, you avoid if you can but if there is no option and you got to get through you find yourself a stick, or something, some distraction in other words tools to 1. Test the limit of safety margin available and 2. To bloody get through and live to tell the tale. 3. To check if it’s just a rope and you shat bricks for no reason to begin with.

Every day as we grow up, we mould ourselves into fear, fear of loss. This happens as we live longer; we see that not everything we do is a win, we sometimes loose, we get hurt, we get disappointed and this gradually becomes the very thing that makes us avoid the more adventurous decisions that we might have taken at a younger age. The “What if…” is missing as we are young. We do first n deal with the results later. “fuck around and find out” as the saying goes. Such a simple fundamental.

We often observe that fear is an unpleasant yet a strong feeling triggered by our perception. We also know that it can cause anxiety and loss of courage. This potentially leading to behavioural reactions like fleeing the threat or confronting it. People may feel fear for various reasons, such as the threat of harm, the presence of danger. There is however one more angle that I sometimes wonder. Fear can even surface as a result of profound reverence and awe towards a person or a phenomenon, especially toward a deity. Enter religion!

As I walk aside the bay of possibilities I find a seer and I hear him yell: “FEAR YOUR GOD(S) OR YOU WILL BE CAST INTO HELL FOR YOUR SINS!”  But God loves you! I retort,  “FEAR HIS RULES!” he yells , But he needs your money! I wonder, what a confusing conundrum religion is. I ask him this: Pray in reverence? naah, in love? Nope, cuz the parents, do it? Umm maybe? Pray cuz you fear losses and you need to beg for what you wish to be true / become reality? HELL YEAH! So Pray cuz you’re afraid and it gives you some sort of sanctuary? Umm, this interview’s over!
Looks like another one of those this generations’ preacher.

I simply cannot resist quoting from Frank Herbert’s Dune: The Famous quote which is part of the “Litany Against Fear” of the bene gesserit in the books (what’s that? Go read the books, they’re better than the movies!

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

In summary, fear is a complex emotion that can affect every individual differently, depending on the context and our personal experiences. If you’ve read this chaotic post so far, here’s a thought to reward you: “Go forth and do it! Give it a shot! Afterall, what is life if we don’t live it?

The Watermann