Fear can mean many things to different people. My brother is a burly man. He measures 5 feet 10 inches and weighs about 250 pounds. You show him a spider that measures 3 inches and he will go running in the other direction. Sometime we are so consumed by fear that we lose all rational thought and either run or become paralyzed. We forget where we are and what needs to be done. We just know that we do not want to be there anymore.
A parent receives a call saying that their child has been in an accident and that they do not know whether their child will make it or not. In this case fear comes into their life because they do not want to imagine what life would be like without that child. This time fear does not paralyze them. On the contrary, it motivates them. They rush out to wherever their child is and begin frantically searching for answers. They will literally move mountains to make sure that their child is all right.
Fear has two ways of affecting our lives. Either it paralyzes you or it motivates you. It all depends on our attitude and our outlook on life. No situation is too great that it cannot be resolved with some help. Many times it is fear that causes us to not ask for help because we do not want to feel rejected. If we could understand and conquer our fears then we would be better off because the fear would not control our life, we would control it.
Image by Phil Ashley obtained at http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/82399225/Lifesize
Image by Phil Ashley obtained at http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/82399225/Lifesize
Fear is a very powerful force. I'm curious what sparked your comments, although your comment about your brother being afraid of spiders is pretty funny. Just curious...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that fear has the power to motivate us or paralyze us. It is up to us to decide what actions we will take when faced with adversity. While I was working on my bachelor’s degree, I attended an art show on campus. One artist developed his artwork around the theme of “What would you accomplish if you had no fear?” I have never forgotten this statement because sometimes our fear keeps us from doing what we truly want in life.
ReplyDeleteAs a family, we go to the lake every weekend. My six-year old daughter wanted to learn how to kneeboard. We borrowed a kneeboard from a friend so she could learn how to do it. When it came time to try, she became very scared. After all of her excuses were exhausted, we finally got her to try. After a few tries, she could ride a short way down the lake by herself. She was so proud of herself! Now she can ride around the lake and we can’t keep her off of it. I asked why she was so scared. She said she didn’t know why but she was glad she did it. I think this situation is similar for all of us. We are sometimes afraid to try but once we do, we cannot remember why we were so afraid.
@jbb
ReplyDeleteI do not really know what made me write about fear. It just popped into my head and I ran with it.