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Fear and Faith.
Dec. 11th, 2008 01:56 amWe are slaves to our fears. Every day we live in fear, some (like me) live more in fear than others. But sometimes you can let the fears misguide you, trick you. Before you know it, you're a slave to the fear, letting it take a hold of every aspect of your life until you can't even trust yourself.
Fear is a liar. Fear doesn't understand reason, logic or empirical evidence. If Fear were a tarot card, it would be The Devil - you are chained to it, and you feel trapped but you don't realise that all you need to do is lift those loose chains from around your neck.
That is the hardest thing of all, and sometimes the chains will slip back on. But knowing those chains are there is a huge step forward.
Sometimes the most important thing in overcoming any dark moment in your life is faith. It doesn't have to necessarily be religious. It can be faith in the human spirit, faith in others, or even faith in yourself.
That faith, in the face of all that overwhelming fear, can seem so foolish. How could I believe in such a good thing, when such bad things have happened in my life? How could good things happen in such a terrible world?
Fear tricks you into thinking this way. It's the pessimist's way of surviving - if I never look forward to anything, I will never be let down. If I expect nothing, I won't hurt when I recieve it. But with this way of existing comes a horrible dark shroud that dims everything. Your urge to try new things or be hopeful is stripped from your soul. And a life without hope or new experiences is a sad one indeed. These two things define us as a species, they make us special as sentient creatures.
You can't stop Fear. It's a survival mechanism and it helps us in ways we probably aren't even aware of. But it isn't the brains in this operation. We are. And we can choose to listen to those fears or to understand where they come from and send them on their way.
A very wise man once said, "Fear is the mind killer" and he was right. It kills reason. Awareness, though painful, is the first step in reversing this effect.
Now, if only I could get my brain to listen to such wisdom.
Fear is a liar. Fear doesn't understand reason, logic or empirical evidence. If Fear were a tarot card, it would be The Devil - you are chained to it, and you feel trapped but you don't realise that all you need to do is lift those loose chains from around your neck.
That is the hardest thing of all, and sometimes the chains will slip back on. But knowing those chains are there is a huge step forward.
Sometimes the most important thing in overcoming any dark moment in your life is faith. It doesn't have to necessarily be religious. It can be faith in the human spirit, faith in others, or even faith in yourself.
That faith, in the face of all that overwhelming fear, can seem so foolish. How could I believe in such a good thing, when such bad things have happened in my life? How could good things happen in such a terrible world?
Fear tricks you into thinking this way. It's the pessimist's way of surviving - if I never look forward to anything, I will never be let down. If I expect nothing, I won't hurt when I recieve it. But with this way of existing comes a horrible dark shroud that dims everything. Your urge to try new things or be hopeful is stripped from your soul. And a life without hope or new experiences is a sad one indeed. These two things define us as a species, they make us special as sentient creatures.
You can't stop Fear. It's a survival mechanism and it helps us in ways we probably aren't even aware of. But it isn't the brains in this operation. We are. And we can choose to listen to those fears or to understand where they come from and send them on their way.
A very wise man once said, "Fear is the mind killer" and he was right. It kills reason. Awareness, though painful, is the first step in reversing this effect.
Now, if only I could get my brain to listen to such wisdom.
