To face fear
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In his inaugural address on 4th March 1933 Franklin D Roosevelt said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. America was right at the depth of the depression. In his campaign for the Presidency against Hoover, Roosevelt had said little of how he was to restore work to the unemployed, wealth to the bankrupt, food to the starving. His inaugural address is worth reading – it might have been written for the world today instead of the USA eighty years ago.
More people than ever before have come to me fearful of what is happening to the planet and its financial, political, religious, ecological and educational mismanagement. Normally fear precipitates fight or flight; today, in many cases, it is causing paralysis. The current fear is not just of making a wrong decision. Once grown up, we all know the price of living is making mistakes. For many that is the first adult education they get.
Today’s fear seems more about the consequences of rejection and its attendant damage to self-image. It is almost as though we must extrapolate our wounds before we try to mend them, a gruesome version of the excessive naval-gazing that is so popular. The resultant inability to decide and act leaves us with the job of sweeping our problems under the carpet, avoiding reminders of the fact that sooner or later we must deal not only with the difficulty but with ourselves.
The reluctance to face fear extends to being unwilling to seek help. This is a common trait among addicts but in my experience a relatively new aspect of fear. It may be that the world has become too judgmental or inclined to seek reprisals. Perhaps we do not exhibit quite the willingness we once did to devote time to helping. In hospitals it is certainly true that staff members are often too busy to have that comforting – and healing – chat.
All bullies and demons become less when squarely faced. Fear is only a bully in the mind. A logical analysis of the cause, preferably with someone else’s help, will not blow the bully away but will cut him down to a manageable size. Small effort is required to do this but, as with going to the moon, the first step is the hardest. Once taken the rest of the journey is logical and methodical.
Let us hope that those fearing fear will take the first step soon.
LU Keehong
Dear John
Is ‘fear’ a rational or an emotional thing?
If it is a rational thing, then ‘fear’ is not fearful when the reasons are determinable.
However, if ‘fear’ is an emotional thing, then it is understandable why we cannot rationally understand it.
It is likes those who believe in the paranormal. Does ‘the thought of seeing things that triggered the chill down the spine feeling’ or ‘the actual things that caused the chill’?
When ‘fears’ are irrational, maybe the professional medical practitioners can help.
Best regards
LU Keehong Mr.