The Antidote to Fear-1

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The Antidote to Fear-1

We all have fears. Fear of what may happen in the future, of skeletons in the closet, of failing others and ourselves. We fear what if our worst fears come true. Most of our anxiety stems from such fears. We read self-help books that tell us to “not worry” or “be positive”. But, it doesn’t work most of the time, certainly not every time. Someone asked me the other day, “Is there a way to rise above your fears?”

Well, it depends on the nature of your fears. If you have paranoia, phobias and worries resulting from excessive thinking then surely a calm mind is of immense help. My focus today is not on unfounded fears arising out of the chattering of a restless mind though. I’ve written and spoken a fair bit on that in the past. Instead, in this post, I talk about genuine fears. Those where a calm mind doesn’t appease your anxiety, fears where all forms of affirmation fails. Only one thing works in the face of such fears. What is that, you ask?

Let me share with you a little story first.

Many years ago a farmer owned a large farm along a certain seacoast. That region was particularly prone to violent storms making it rather difficult for him to prevent the damage. He was always looking for strong and strapping men who could safeguard his barn, pen and hay. But, no matter how well the farmer paid, everyone would leave after facing a storm or two.

One day, a petite and short man approached him for employment. Looking at the thin build, the farmer was quite skeptical about his fitness for the job. He explained to the applicant that it was a physically demanding job and he couldn’t see how his small body would handle it. The man, however, assured him that he was more than capable.

“Everyone leaves after facing just one storm,” the farmer said.

“Actually, I sleep peacefully in the middle of a storm.”

And, at the root of readiness is a simple affirmation. Putting your hand on your heart, if you can say I did the best I could then you’ve done your bit. The rest must be left to the Nature, Fate, Karma, God, whatever you want to call that element. We can only do what we can and ultimately, we can only do so much. If you’ve prepared as well as you could, that’s all that matters. We don’t control everything that happens to or around us. There’s little sense in fretting over things beyond your control.

If you’ve put your seat belts on and you are obeying the traffic laws while driving carefully, worrying about an accident is a pointless fear. You’ve no control over it. Worrying about a plane crash while taking a flight is another example. Excessive thinking is the mother of such fears. Any specific fear you can’t get out of your head is a phobia. Either way, good meditation, counselling or other similar methods can help you overcome them. For all genuine fears, though, readiness is the only way as far as I know.

Om Namah Shivay