Fear.
It is probably the most detested word in the dictionary of mankind. The emotion is as pathetic as it can be and then some. Poets have scorned it, authors have mocked it, bards have condemned it and artists have shunned it in all their creations.
But fear has stayed on...for it did not need anyone's praise or acceptance. It knew when to creep in and corrupt someone's psyche. Fear is more self aware of itself than any other emotion and it gives the possessor an uncanny capability to survive. For without fear, there is no fight.
It's not my favorite vice...I would rather avoid it and if it surfaces, I try to master it and get over it. If someone even implies in some hypothetical situation that I may face fear; I rush on to prove that fear will fear me...I am that brave!
A more accepting mind will admit (to self) that fear is as much a part of one's existence as the need to survive. Bravery to the extent of being daredevil is nothing but denial. It is astonishing, how it takes someone's brave struggle against extreme pathos to make one realize the potential of fear.
We are what we make ourselves and not what life makes of us, but this fire to make something out of our own ashes and rise again like a phoenix comes from nothing but fear.
Without fear of failure, there is no extra effort.
Without fear of loss, there is no reason to protect.
We build ourselves in anticipation of a future which may not always be what we fear but which may be so. The desire to improve and get ahead of oneself doesn't just come from ambition but from fear as well. It maligns the most positive of notions and brings a notoriously bloody flavor to life.
Sometimes it's important to be not brave, to not stand and fight but to fear the nemesis and make an exit strategy. Sometimes the only thing holding you back from giving your 100% is the lack of fear.
It hasn't been easy to accept the potential of fear, but the idea has made its mark.
Still, I fear, admitting that I am anything but fearless will take me a lifetime...
