Its strange, but most of us talk without giving a thought to what we say. If we did, we would not say half the things we do! What figures most prominently in most of our statements, is the word 'fear'. So loosely used, without a thought as to what it indicates, "fear" is the one word that is easy to put across , its meaning, or whatever it is we assign to it is easily comprehended, and computed by the listener.
What kind of "fear" is the logical question to ask next, and to that the answer is very vertical. "Fear '"of all kinds.
Something else that I have observed is that people tend to be more sympathetic when one declares one is "afraid"
---never mind whether it is of animal, vegetable or mineral. Ah! here is an occasion, they think, to dispense "tea and sympathy". I wonder why.
I would think that a person who is brave, takes risks, and crosses boundaries with confidence would evoke admiration in the fellow human's breast, but that is not what I have seen, at least not in this country.
The Greeks thought that tragedy stemmed from "hubris", which loosely translated would mean an excessive arrogance, pride,and sense of self. In Vedanta it is "egotism" that disables one from going out of one's self towards a larger, more comprehensive understanding. Both amount to the same.Does this then mean that being "afraid" is a residue of the ancient wisdom holding us back from transgression?Hard to agree, because I believe that human achievement ---in every sphere ,in every sense---is only because of an initial transgression that had to be undertaken sans 'fear'.
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S.Eliot.
"Fear" lives in us and corrodes our life, our sensibilities. We cannot then react "from our solar plexus" ----as D. H. Lawrence was wont to say--- because we are afraid of the consequences of our transgression. Ergo,we do nothing,just vegetate and continue...."By this and only this, we have existed.". No, we do not.
"Fear" has another form today, born of the psychosis of "terror".There are those who true to the Confucian way of thinking " lie down and enjoy it",others fight it their own way.
This is an insidious warfare that is fought from within, through minds. I read somewhere a couple of years back that the Al Qaeda is not as much a physical organization, as it is a state of the mind. Therefore one can never really wipe it out. and why is that? Because it is all about "fear" that once planted can never be gotten rid of.
We fight our own personal "jihads" against the corruption of "fear" that keeps us from striving towards a more enlightened self.
"Fear" is also strangely, a very safe feeling. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how.It is when one decides to shake it off that one feels out on a limb. Wondering at having ventured out on this strange path, for a while one is sorely tempted to seek safe haven in being "afraid". But persevere,and voila no burden any more; free to make the choices one wants. Very important that last bit. Sticking to prescriptions can be very convenient,but oh! the joy of creating one's personal parameters! The pride and the freedom! Convictions and the courage are what is needed to carry them through. Not a comfortable life maybe but yes, a life without the inhibitions of "fear"...
Or stay dithering like Prufrock:
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?....
T.S. Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
.
What kind of "fear" is the logical question to ask next, and to that the answer is very vertical. "Fear '"of all kinds.
Something else that I have observed is that people tend to be more sympathetic when one declares one is "afraid"
---never mind whether it is of animal, vegetable or mineral. Ah! here is an occasion, they think, to dispense "tea and sympathy". I wonder why.
I would think that a person who is brave, takes risks, and crosses boundaries with confidence would evoke admiration in the fellow human's breast, but that is not what I have seen, at least not in this country.
The Greeks thought that tragedy stemmed from "hubris", which loosely translated would mean an excessive arrogance, pride,and sense of self. In Vedanta it is "egotism" that disables one from going out of one's self towards a larger, more comprehensive understanding. Both amount to the same.Does this then mean that being "afraid" is a residue of the ancient wisdom holding us back from transgression?Hard to agree, because I believe that human achievement ---in every sphere ,in every sense---is only because of an initial transgression that had to be undertaken sans 'fear'.
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S.Eliot.
"Fear" lives in us and corrodes our life, our sensibilities. We cannot then react "from our solar plexus" ----as D. H. Lawrence was wont to say--- because we are afraid of the consequences of our transgression. Ergo,we do nothing,just vegetate and continue...."By this and only this, we have existed.". No, we do not.
"Fear" has another form today, born of the psychosis of "terror".There are those who true to the Confucian way of thinking " lie down and enjoy it",others fight it their own way.
This is an insidious warfare that is fought from within, through minds. I read somewhere a couple of years back that the Al Qaeda is not as much a physical organization, as it is a state of the mind. Therefore one can never really wipe it out. and why is that? Because it is all about "fear" that once planted can never be gotten rid of.
We fight our own personal "jihads" against the corruption of "fear" that keeps us from striving towards a more enlightened self.
"Fear" is also strangely, a very safe feeling. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how.It is when one decides to shake it off that one feels out on a limb. Wondering at having ventured out on this strange path, for a while one is sorely tempted to seek safe haven in being "afraid". But persevere,and voila no burden any more; free to make the choices one wants. Very important that last bit. Sticking to prescriptions can be very convenient,but oh! the joy of creating one's personal parameters! The pride and the freedom! Convictions and the courage are what is needed to carry them through. Not a comfortable life maybe but yes, a life without the inhibitions of "fear"...
Or stay dithering like Prufrock:
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?....
T.S. Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
.
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