What is fear? Is it always bad? I had always heard that human beings were only born with two fears- the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. I definitely understand both of those fears and how they are rooted into our ancient pass. Falling can lead to death, loud noises can indicate danger. Karl Albrecht, PhD. (2007) tells us that there are actually five fears that we all share and they are fear of extinction, mutilation, loss of autonomy, separation, and ego-death, and that all of our small fears like falling for example, can be traced to one of these five. In the end, Merriam-Webster defines fear (noun) as “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger, and fear (verb) as “to be afraid of: expect with alarm.” Another aspect of fear is “to have reverential awe” as in the “Fear of God.” This type of fear has always been fascinating to me. At any rate, fear is a healthy aspect of the human psyche. Without it, humanity would likely not have survived.
However, there is such a thing as allowing your fear to dominate your life. This is what this card is dealing with. Often, we let our minds tell us stories that exacerbate our fears. Instead of our rational mind taking over, we allow our bodies to become flooded with fear, immobilizing us to the point that we are unable to take action. Some people develop crippling anxiety, phobias that keep them isolated, all their fear building within the five fears of Albrecht’s hierarchy, becoming a cancer of the mind and spirit until the healthy response to danger that makes us human actually repels us from living a true, holistic human experience. And of course, this is extreme and most of us probably don’t become debilitated to the point of immobilizing phobia, but I think we can all look at this and think, “yeah, I know fear. And I know that my fear has held me back.” So, while you may not develop a full fledged phobia, it is possible that your fear has kept you from fully living your life. This is the fear you have to surrender.
I decided, when my own body started to attack itself, that fear was not something I was going to allow to control me. Life is too short, for one, and therefore too precious. This is not to say that I no longer feel fear but instead I work very hard at overcoming the fears that seek to defeat me as they come. Today, for example, I fear the looks of repulsion on the faces of people as they look at the out of control immune response that manifests on my skin, especially my face. I don’t want to leave my house. I am embarrassed. I fear their judgment when I cannot always cover my face with a mask or a shield. I fear being spit on (which, believe it or not, actually happened a few months ago) and I fear being confronted. I fear the painful changes in my body and I fear I will never get better. I fear the lack of compassion and I fear that it will cause me to feel resentment and even hate. But I will overcome those fears, each time, and I will go outside, I will go to work, I will make do as best as I can because my fear is not serving a higher purpose. Giving in to it will not improve my state of mind, my state of being. My fear will inhibit my growth and my potential. It will prevent me from my fulfilling my purpose. My fear will not make me healthy.
Instead, I do the best I can. I take small steps and I celebrate each one. My face isn’t one that will win prizes at its best but I know that it could be worse and that I need to surrender these feelings one way or another. My fear has the potential to embellish a problem so that it becomes bigger than it actually is, which can, and has immobilized me from truly living my life.
There are SO many things we can say about fear. Fear is healthy, sure, but not when it holds you back from living your best life, taking action, living fully, loving completely, finding success, embracing peace….. unhealthy fear can ruin all of that potential if you let it.
So, yeah, be safe. Listen to your instincts. Stay focused on your path and work through your fears as they come and really try to determine if they are of value. If they are not, then toss them…. surrender those fears, give them to God, the Universe, Divine Source, and keep on moving forward. You will never have the opportunity to live this moment again. Make it worth it.
Have a terrific day, people! I’m grateful for you.
Ref-
Albrecht, Karl. “Practical Intelligence: the Art and Science of Common Sense.” New York: Wiley, 2007
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Fear. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear