Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
~ Psalm 23:4 ~
The Bible and its companions permeate much of human culture. Literature is laced with passages borrowed from religious texts; evidence that, in a world rife with despair and overwhelming terror, humans seeks comfort. But, often, comforting religious words are tempered with undercurrents; assertions that can fill true believers with dread. Yet even in the face of inexplicable contradictions and statements that seem designed to instill fear, true believers embrace religious texts with unshakeable commitment, as if words written by men were, in fact, statements directly from a deity. As surprising as that may be, it is understandable…anxiety about the unknown can cause a relentless, irrational search for relief. Yet amidst the unsupported promises and the frightful cautions, kernels of truth—based on reality and reason and not on fantasy and tragic hope—offer consolation to those seeking solace. People should be free to believe what they wish, even in magic, if that is what it takes to overcome what is, to them, the intolerable. And the rest of us should withhold judgment.
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No taste is more bitter than—nor as long-lasting as—fear. Fear is a constrictive, manipulative emotion; a harness that restricts one’s ability to move freely through life without burden. Dread that fear will interrupt an otherwise carefree experience ruins that experience—and it can do the same to self-respect and self-confidence. Fear of injury or illness or death…fear of living…fear of loss of control…fear of the unexpected. One can find hundreds of ideas on the internet about how to reduce or eliminate fear. None of them, nor any other pieces of advice, work. Constant or repetitive fear is, in the living, an unconquerable flaw. Contrary to popular belief, bravery is not the opposite of fear; it is the temporary absence of fear. The conquest of fear is achieved only with its permanent absence in death. But, of course, all emotions and all experiences disappear then.
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Too much thought can cause one’s brain either to explode or to solidify into a piece of impermeable stone. Too little can cause one to become a certified hillbilly with a tendency toward violence. That is an intolerably bigoted comment. Mistakes will be made. Corrections will be attempted. Failures will be mourned. And there you go. Danger abounds.
