Fears: uncovering the unknown shadows of truth
Warning if you are easily offended or bored with social commentary or
opinionated reads, I advise you, don’t read this. Forget for a second
that you or another person are both afraid you won’t see each other
again, or that Aunt Lily won’t recover from cancer. I learned in
college from a distinguished English professor, Jason Ludden that fear
is something we thrive on or run from; it’s the possibility of the
unknown that drives us to insanity. I was writing an English essay for
his class on a relationship story. He told me that I can’t just write
a paper without diving into the memory of the fears I had at the time.
I sat down in his office fuming because I knew what fear was, so why
was this so hard to write? I stared at him, clearly annoyed, and
decided that I would jot down on a piece of paper what terrified me
the most. I came up with a few. Indiana Jones and I have something in
common, we are deathly afraid of snakes, or could it be my other fear,
being alone. (This is coming from the person who ate a delicious meal
at Ruth Chris Steakhouse by herself, but still) In this world,
everybody is afraid of something. It doesn’t matter if it is an
irrational, psychological anxiety or an uncomfortable human holistic
response, fears are natural and biological. Paint a picture of a scene
where fear develops. There is a vision of ones veins freezing in time
and a cold spot of momentary confusion, in which a person has no idea
how to react or respond. Fear can take so many forms: it can be the
weaknesses which people fight so heavily try to protect, objects such
as snakes for me(hideous, menacing, dangerous, and slimy); fears of
infidelity or losing one’s job or home, fear of individualistic
groups, such as gay, lesbians, atheists, Christians, psychologists,
etc.: fear of flying, falling, dancing, hiking, and so on. It could be
the emotion I feel when someone I know is hurt. I often believe a
spiritual fear of God can also be a fear that people run from or don’t
address. With so many fears out there, I notice a re-occurring one
that delves into the deeper psyche. This fear causes people to gloss
over the surface of the notion or sweep it underneath the rug, as if
they really don’t want it to happen or feel near to them in the first
place. The fear I am referring to is loneliness. I could most
specifically be referring to that of infidelity as well. I feel this
in my bones creeping up on me whenever I have lost control of
situation, or the cornerstones of reality hit my cranium head on. I
continuously see a pattern with people, myself included, where there
is some idle time, listen to a sad song, have children and not a
partner to share it with, only child and no siblings, loved one is
gone or dead, quarrel with a friend, wait on someone who never comes
or answers, hold on to what is no longer there, or pray into the night
to erase our worries. These situations render a person helpless,
angry, or sad, and they stray from strength into fear. People seek
comfort through healthy or unhealthy behavior to cope with fears.
Loneliness however, is a concrete fear that seems to engulf all of the
other fears. One without another, or something to hold onto or
someone, a person is devoid of purpose. I think that is the scariest
thing in the world. When I think about it, I have my family and my
friends and pets if people have them, but consider if there wasn’t any
of that. For example, a soldier or an orphan child, whose fears are
none; maybe it’s no food, no water, no home, or a bed. Human fears are
the unknown shadows of truth. As Ludden said, we have no idea what to
expect when it is something we have never seen or experienced. Society
can sit here and say they are afraid of getting a dress dirty, or a
shark eating their board or getting fired (may want to change
professions if you think you are getting fired everyday), or how to
raise a child, receiving test results, landing a plane, whatever.
Fears are put into our lives for a reason. I think mine are to show me
what I am capable of, what I can and can’t do, what I know I need to
do, or what I want or need. Thank you Sigmund Freud for cracking my
skull this afternoon to share a thought (that even Einstein) might
scratch his head with belittled fear. In the voice of Alfred
Hitchcock, (pun intended) I say dearie, what’s your fear?
opinionated reads, I advise you, don’t read this. Forget for a second
that you or another person are both afraid you won’t see each other
again, or that Aunt Lily won’t recover from cancer. I learned in
college from a distinguished English professor, Jason Ludden that fear
is something we thrive on or run from; it’s the possibility of the
unknown that drives us to insanity. I was writing an English essay for
his class on a relationship story. He told me that I can’t just write
a paper without diving into the memory of the fears I had at the time.
I sat down in his office fuming because I knew what fear was, so why
was this so hard to write? I stared at him, clearly annoyed, and
decided that I would jot down on a piece of paper what terrified me
the most. I came up with a few. Indiana Jones and I have something in
common, we are deathly afraid of snakes, or could it be my other fear,
being alone. (This is coming from the person who ate a delicious meal
at Ruth Chris Steakhouse by herself, but still) In this world,
everybody is afraid of something. It doesn’t matter if it is an
irrational, psychological anxiety or an uncomfortable human holistic
response, fears are natural and biological. Paint a picture of a scene
where fear develops. There is a vision of ones veins freezing in time
and a cold spot of momentary confusion, in which a person has no idea
how to react or respond. Fear can take so many forms: it can be the
weaknesses which people fight so heavily try to protect, objects such
as snakes for me(hideous, menacing, dangerous, and slimy); fears of
infidelity or losing one’s job or home, fear of individualistic
groups, such as gay, lesbians, atheists, Christians, psychologists,
etc.: fear of flying, falling, dancing, hiking, and so on. It could be
the emotion I feel when someone I know is hurt. I often believe a
spiritual fear of God can also be a fear that people run from or don’t
address. With so many fears out there, I notice a re-occurring one
that delves into the deeper psyche. This fear causes people to gloss
over the surface of the notion or sweep it underneath the rug, as if
they really don’t want it to happen or feel near to them in the first
place. The fear I am referring to is loneliness. I could most
specifically be referring to that of infidelity as well. I feel this
in my bones creeping up on me whenever I have lost control of
situation, or the cornerstones of reality hit my cranium head on. I
continuously see a pattern with people, myself included, where there
is some idle time, listen to a sad song, have children and not a
partner to share it with, only child and no siblings, loved one is
gone or dead, quarrel with a friend, wait on someone who never comes
or answers, hold on to what is no longer there, or pray into the night
to erase our worries. These situations render a person helpless,
angry, or sad, and they stray from strength into fear. People seek
comfort through healthy or unhealthy behavior to cope with fears.
Loneliness however, is a concrete fear that seems to engulf all of the
other fears. One without another, or something to hold onto or
someone, a person is devoid of purpose. I think that is the scariest
thing in the world. When I think about it, I have my family and my
friends and pets if people have them, but consider if there wasn’t any
of that. For example, a soldier or an orphan child, whose fears are
none; maybe it’s no food, no water, no home, or a bed. Human fears are
the unknown shadows of truth. As Ludden said, we have no idea what to
expect when it is something we have never seen or experienced. Society
can sit here and say they are afraid of getting a dress dirty, or a
shark eating their board or getting fired (may want to change
professions if you think you are getting fired everyday), or how to
raise a child, receiving test results, landing a plane, whatever.
Fears are put into our lives for a reason. I think mine are to show me
what I am capable of, what I can and can’t do, what I know I need to
do, or what I want or need. Thank you Sigmund Freud for cracking my
skull this afternoon to share a thought (that even Einstein) might
scratch his head with belittled fear. In the voice of Alfred
Hitchcock, (pun intended) I say dearie, what’s your fear?
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