FEAR

Fear: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc, whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.  Fear, more than just a word is an emotion that finds its’ company among trepidation, panic, and horror. Kin to terror and adversary to courage, fear can be crippling. It stifles dreams and the potential to succeed by regulating its’ victims into compromise and complacency.  Past experiences validate our fears while current challenges develop and perpetuate new ones.  Fear is real.  We’re talking about emotional blocks in the construction of barriers impenetrable to the average will to overcome. We would all like to rise above our fears, but it can be considerably less challenging to those hindered by it than to those paralyzed because of it. 

So what do we fear? Is it religious persecution?  Does a Muslim in this post 9/11 era shy away from donning their traditional garb for fear of the reaction to it by the greater public?  Perhaps children are our best examples.  Consider the child who runs away because survival on the streets is less terrifying than the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse endured at home.  Some of us fear change, or venturing to extend our comfort zones.  This fear of the unknown can quell our desire to conquer and achieve.  What if we’re not triumphant in our explorations?  Should we then resolve to not explore? 

When faced with this particular dilemma, it’s important to acknowledge not only that we are afraid, but that failure is what we fear specifically.  Failure, as much as success, is a possibility in all that we do in life.  Failure provokes in us and in others a feeling of disappointment.  It means that we are inadequate in our attempts to advance and pursue progression in our lives.  As a result, many of us choose not to pursue that which we have the potential to fail in, retreating into mediocrity.  Some would say that mediocrity is not an option, but it’s certainly a more palatable alternative to inadequacy. 

 Here we find ourselves at the proverbial fork in the road.  One the one side is the easy road, or the path of least resistance.  This road keeps us in our place, controlled by fear.  There are no challenges, no failures, and no disappointments.  We learn nothing about ourselves, or what we are capable of, and are content with our cowardice and lack of character.  The opposite road is the path of courage, and can often be perilous and frightening.  Along the way are detours which we must endure to discover alternate paths to our destination.  Inevitably we will encounter setbacks disguised as failures, but if we follow the twists and turns of these learning curves, we will eventually arrive at the end of this road less traveled.  We will be stronger and more confident than we previously knew ourselves to be.  Only when we persevere through fear will we uncover the true substance of who we are.  Rather than fear what we cannot accomplish, we should be fearful of not knowing what we can.