However, it was only recently that an incident, with someone whom I care a lot about, has brought this topic back into the limelight of my thoughts. And obviously for reasons I need not utter, I would not recommend that he be indifferent.
*End of Prologue*
So... I once again asked God to provide me with answers to the problem - how do we effectively control or deal with fear? And as usual, God remained silent though answers seeped to me from my ever resourceful brain.
My attention was brought to medieval soldiers who were fighting at the front line of the battalion - destined to be the first to fall in all likelihood. My hypothesis is that in order to control or deal with fear, one would need to muster stronger emotions; the two that I can think of are Hatred and Love.
Hatred - It is not difficult to envision that courage on the battlefield can stem from hatred for the other party. However, instead of adhering to Hatred, I will bring forth another emotion - Arrogance - to better demonstrate real life practicality. With Arrogance, it is as if one is conjuring a stronger Fear (stemming from Arrogance - the Fear of being fearful) to counteract all other sorts of Fear. If one has a fervent emotion to not want to seem vulnerable, to not want to feel weak, and to not want to give others the pleasure of inflicting fear in oneself, then perhaps this emotion can surpass the conflicting emotion of Fear itself.
This method does seem easier to implement compared to the counterpart that stems from Love which I will describe later. I do admit that I have somewhat adopted the "Arrogant" approach to counteract fear many times, and it does seem to work quite flawlessly. Though society does seem to frown on Arrogance and Hatred... and I feel that these emotions are indeed less "sustainable" than Love...
Love - My conception of using the emotion of Love to counteract Fear is abstract to the point that I am discouraged to articulate it. It is easy to conceive the ascent in courage in military personnel out of love for their country and the people they protect. However, how to we implement said notion in every day practice - the fear of being mugged, bashed, etc. The crux of the solution lies in the fact that Love (at least a particular kind of Love) can provide one with the peace of mind. Here I invoke the cliche consolation provided to those whose loved ones passed away - "sorrow not, for he/she who has left would not want to see you sad". The same MIGHT be able to apply to fear: Fear not, for the ones who love you sorrow at the prospect of you subjected to such emotional suffering; fear not, for the ones who love you will always be at your side; fear not, invoke the loving memories you have had and let them guide you to peace. The things we potentially fear have the power to strip us of wealth, well-being, sanity, and even our most precious memories; but it cannot strip us of the happiness which we've shared and left behind in this world as it already happened and cannot be changed; and may this notion help us all find peace in fearful moments where we feel at the risk of losing things we fear losing.
Epilogue: I too have a fear; I fear being "vulnerable" - which is why I strive so hard to control my emotions. Though sometimes I feel that it is "okay" to feel "vulnerable"; it is okay to "fear". For in the moment of great fear, we tend to remember what we care most about - what we fear losing. For in the moment of great fear, it comforts us to anchor ourselves to something/someone that is capable of providing us with a sense of peace and security - be it God, your loved ones, or any other.
My attention was brought to medieval soldiers who were fighting at the front line of the battalion - destined to be the first to fall in all likelihood. My hypothesis is that in order to control or deal with fear, one would need to muster stronger emotions; the two that I can think of are Hatred and Love.
Hatred - It is not difficult to envision that courage on the battlefield can stem from hatred for the other party. However, instead of adhering to Hatred, I will bring forth another emotion - Arrogance - to better demonstrate real life practicality. With Arrogance, it is as if one is conjuring a stronger Fear (stemming from Arrogance - the Fear of being fearful) to counteract all other sorts of Fear. If one has a fervent emotion to not want to seem vulnerable, to not want to feel weak, and to not want to give others the pleasure of inflicting fear in oneself, then perhaps this emotion can surpass the conflicting emotion of Fear itself.
This method does seem easier to implement compared to the counterpart that stems from Love which I will describe later. I do admit that I have somewhat adopted the "Arrogant" approach to counteract fear many times, and it does seem to work quite flawlessly. Though society does seem to frown on Arrogance and Hatred... and I feel that these emotions are indeed less "sustainable" than Love...
Love - My conception of using the emotion of Love to counteract Fear is abstract to the point that I am discouraged to articulate it. It is easy to conceive the ascent in courage in military personnel out of love for their country and the people they protect. However, how to we implement said notion in every day practice - the fear of being mugged, bashed, etc. The crux of the solution lies in the fact that Love (at least a particular kind of Love) can provide one with the peace of mind. Here I invoke the cliche consolation provided to those whose loved ones passed away - "sorrow not, for he/she who has left would not want to see you sad". The same MIGHT be able to apply to fear: Fear not, for the ones who love you sorrow at the prospect of you subjected to such emotional suffering; fear not, for the ones who love you will always be at your side; fear not, invoke the loving memories you have had and let them guide you to peace. The things we potentially fear have the power to strip us of wealth, well-being, sanity, and even our most precious memories; but it cannot strip us of the happiness which we've shared and left behind in this world as it already happened and cannot be changed; and may this notion help us all find peace in fearful moments where we feel at the risk of losing things we fear losing.
Epilogue: I too have a fear; I fear being "vulnerable" - which is why I strive so hard to control my emotions. Though sometimes I feel that it is "okay" to feel "vulnerable"; it is okay to "fear". For in the moment of great fear, we tend to remember what we care most about - what we fear losing. For in the moment of great fear, it comforts us to anchor ourselves to something/someone that is capable of providing us with a sense of peace and security - be it God, your loved ones, or any other.
1 comments:
Thank you.
Post a Comment