Rik

The human dilemma a world traumatised by fear

- fear of losing a job
- fear of being ridiculed
- fear of making a mistake
- fear of embarrassment
- fear of going unnoticed
- fear of leaving no mark
- fear of the unknown
- fear of being alone

- the list goes on and on

Some fears are more debilitating than others and lead us even closer to the abyss.

- fear of social intercourse.
- fear of social interaction.
- fear of social exclusion

Other fears lead to anger and hate

- fear of the unknown
- fear of losing status
- fear of losing place

but all fears play a great part in every decision we make.

Although we may not be able to understand the reasons behind some peoples fears and this may lead us into treating them lightly.

What we all understand is the effect of fear. We know how fear affects us. How it interferes and compromises our lives. How our mind's and body's react to it. How intense and all consuming it can be. So when faced with an-others fear don't judge the reason for their fear, only think of the effects it is having on them and then maybe we will be able to understand their situation, their reactions. And from this maybe our response will be tempered and we maybe able to offer compassion as an alternative to other actions that instinctively invade our frame of referrence.

Compassion for all the idiosyncratic behaviour people display as they confront their fears. Confront their fears as they try and steer a path through life. a path that will offer them some semblance of peace and harmony.

We all seek the same thing, this same path. We are just struggling between the conflict between our fears and our expectations.

Expectations which have been conditioned by our peers our environment and the force of society. The bigger the gap between our fears and expectations the greater the struggle.

Society is always toying with and preying on our emotions our fears keeping us on the edge of uncertainty and unhappiness. Making us believe that happiness depends on how fat the wallet is or how perfect we are. Steering our eyes away from our hearts and souls maintaining the illusion that all that "glitters must be gold". *Led Zep i think!

- we are conditioned to fear falling out of step
- fear of not having the newest and most up to-date
- fear of having the wrong 'label'
- fear of not conforming

- advertisers prey on our fears
- politicians prey on our fears
- even religion will use fear

So much time, money and effort spent to raise our expectations. So little time and effort spent to help balance our fears with them. We are cast out into the abyss like children, ill prepared to tame the silent demons which wait their moment to wreak havoc.

This conflict shapes us, shapes all around us and this conflict shapes the world. It always has and it always will.

- fear sets our boundaries
- fear isolates us
- fear restricts us

Fears drives us all whether it is the ego of a world leader or the kid on the corner of the street. Look closely and you will see the footprints of fear.

We are all at the mercy of the conflict between our fears, desires and emotions, which makes:

- living tough
- mistakes easy
- and forgetting very difficult.

And out of all this, we all try to find peace of mind and harmony and if we are very lucky a companion who will understand:

- our fears
- forgive our mistakes
- and help us to forget.

When fear is subtly at work it leads to misunderstanding of social signals by all sides.

Somebody said when 2 people meet there are six people in the room. Who you are, how you act and how you appear to the other person. 3 personalities for each. But this i believe is not the fall picture there are many more people in that room.

One of the most important is how you wish to be, how you see yourself in your minds eye. This is by no means who you are or how you appear to others.

Who you are: is the person who when feeling serene shines through. Your basic instinctive genetic footprint.

How you act: is who you are when dealing with conditioned fears, desires and expectations.

How you appear to be: completely depends on the interpretation of your audience and how they are dealing with their own conflicts and fears at the time.

And then there is who you wish to be: conditioned as you grow by the environment that envelopes you. To reach this person it probably means pushing the boundaries of your fears which will undoubtedly distort all the above three. Leading to how you act.

- who you wish to be sets your mark. Sets the conflicts you are likely to face and endure. Sets up thoughts of dissatisfaction, apathy, resentment and all that kind of jazz.

- the larger the gap between who you are and who you wish to be the greater the conflict. The greater the potential turmoil, trauma and confusion.

The closer 'who you are' and 'who you wish to be' the less you will have to face your fears, the less stress there will be, the less conflict you will find in all walks of your life. The closer you will find yourself to peace and harmony.

Ok - i admit this doesn't account for the constant force of gravity that society applies to force us into certain boxes which seem unavoidable.

Anyway all just whimsical thoughts of a whimsical mind.

All comments welcome, for or against.