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Can We Throw Away 'fear'

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by jayasala42, Feb 23, 2017.

  1. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Tamil poet Bharathi has written a lot about 'Fear'.His famous lines
    " uchchi meethu vaanidinthu veezhnthu ninra pothilum
    achcahmillai achchamillai achchamenbathillaiye"
    ( Don't fear even if the entire sky falls on you")

    Pages and pages have been written about the evils of fear ,different phobia ,particularly about'phobophobia'-'fear of fear'.

    It is always good to know the impact of what we do but sometimes not knowing the impact helps in keeping away the sheer fear of approaching the task we intend to do. When we start realizing the impacts more and more, we start fearing the negative impacts it might bring!

    If we listen to our fears we may die never knowing how great we might have been.
    'Darr se mat daro, darr ke aage jeet hai!' (Don't fear the Fear, beyond the Fear lies victory!).

    Many expansions are given to the word 'F E A R'
    False Evidence Appearing Real,False experience appearing real and so on.

    Either we may 'Forget Everything And Run' or
    'Face Everything And Rise '-depends on what we choose.

    It is very nice to listen to such quotes and imagine ourselves as 'embodiment' of courage and boldness without an iota of fear.

    But practically speaking there’s nothing wrong with being a little afraid now and then. In fact, it has some real advantages.
    When we think about 'fear' we usually assume it’s something we’d be better off without.
    For the past few years I am getting more educated about the merits of 'fear',thanks to my two grandsons.
    One is totally cautious.While climbing down the steps, he would carefully scratch his heel until it touches the next step.While we are worried about the'fear' of this child,
    the other grandson climbs or gets down two or three steps at a time or uses only the side ramp or handle to come down.His total lack of fear also worried us all.

    From the time he learned to walk I felt that his enthusiasm bordered on recklessness.Though my son also felt the same way,he pretended to be marvelled at the indomitable energy of the child.My son too had his parental sense of fear ,at the same time didn't want to rob the child
    of the opportunity to discover his own limits.
    But thank God,for the past 6 months, my son has some relief.The child has started developing some appropriate sense of 'fear'of his own.,our hearty desire.

    Maybe it’s just the common sense that comes with a certain amount of trial and error. Maybe it’s an evolving awareness of the laws of physics. Whatever be the reason,he exhibits certain hesitation about certain potential risks. This attitude is seen not only in his play but also in other activities, a good trend indeed.
    Honouring and adapting our sense of fear based on our real-life experiences is essential to our long-term survival.
    Fear has been in existence for millions of years.
    Consider the example of prey animals and predators. Prey animals, like horses and rabbits, operate almost entirely out of “fear intelligence.” They’ve learned over the course of their evolution what they need to be afraid of (primarily predators, like lions, tigers and other creatures that might want to eat them), and how to avoid those threats as assiduously as possible. As a result, even in the face of considerable danger, their kind have survived quite well.
    Predators, on the other hand, have an evolutionary history that had enabled them to be fearless.They have been the hunters, not the hunted — the feared, not the fearful. They’re always on the lookout for opportunities, not threats. And thus, despite pronounced advantages in the context of their natural environments, over time they have fared far less well than prey animals in the face of one unprecedented threat ie human encroachment. As a result, unfortunately, many of them are now considered endangered species.
    It is not that we have to always to keep away from danger and perceived threat.We humans occupy a middle place in the evolutionary history, and we tend to do our best when we balance courageous and calculated risks with practical self-preservation strategies.

    It is an undeniable fact that fear includes not only a hesitation to get involved in crimes and evils but also a hesitation to pin point the crimes of others, and keeping silent when others are in crisis.

    Ultimately, each of us has to choose our battles. We have to know when to stand our ground, when to pause, when to pounce, when to turn and walk (or run) away. It is by consciously noticing and taking stock of our fears, by learning to accurately discern real threats from paper tigers, that we stand the best chance not only of surviving but also of succeeding to the fullest extent of our personal potential.
    In Tamilnadu we have just witnessed the fate of a 'Fearless 'puratchi thalaivi JJ.

    It is not wise to have superhuman immunity to fear. Rather, it is a willingness to acknowledge our fears, and then make conscious, high-integrity choices about how we respond to them.
    Whether we are three or eighty three,it is a skill that is never late for any of us to learn.

    While talking of fear very often we acknowledge'God fearing' as an appreciable quality in any individual.'The'God fearing nature is stated to give strength to turn away from evil,
    offer knowledge and wisdom,provide the basis for contentment and so on.

    I don't know whether the need for threat or reward( fear of God's curse or blessing) can drift one away from doing wrong.Suppose one is prevented from killing spree only because of his faith in God, what will happen if he has some reason to lose his faith?We see many people contributing 30% of the loot to Balaji Hundi in Thirumala.They don't fear even to include Balaji as a partner to their 'fearless' trade.
    More than the fear of God, the awareness that 'we have to reap what we sow'may help better.
    More than 'God fearing','Karma fearing people may better suit the society or at least may not endanger the society.Those who don't believe in Karma theory,let them fear their conscience.
    For those who are proud to say that it is their conscience that induces them in wrong doings,let ' 'Time'teach them a lesson.

    Do you still want to be totally 'fearless'?Choice is yours.

    Jayasala 42
     
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  2. PushpavalliSrinivasan

    PushpavalliSrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Jaya,
    Thanks for bringing up this topic.

    Total fearlessness will lead to misery. Deiva pulavar Thiruvalluvar's following kural says,

    anjuvathu anjaamai pEthamai; anjuvathu

    anjal aRivaar thozhil.

    Meaning:
    Fools do not fear what is to be feared and rush in regardless of danger; it is the nature of the wise to fear what is truly a danger. Unlike fools, discriminatory wisdom helps the wise to know the real dangers of life and take due precautions.

    On the other hand when a child falls frequently when starting to walk, if we are afraid and be over protective it will affect the child's growth.

    Exam fear will affect the students and they will become nervous in the examination hall and may not answer questions which are easy in spite of knowing the answer.

    PS
     
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  3. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    True, fear is an protective mechanism which has developed to help survival of the species. However, it can be quite paralyzing when people refuse to act based on fears real or imagined. That is the only kind of fear that I truly fear.
     
  4. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks Pushpa for the kind response.Fear is an innate instinct.
    A case of'must' and 'avoid'.As you said Thiruvalluvar has composed many couplets too.The decision is in our hands to be judicious.
    Jayasala42
     
  5. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    True,Satchitananda,
    Normally people want to have a clear path marked for victory without any impediments.Sometiments even in a planned project we get unexpected obstacles.,which have to be faced.Occasionally we are forced to plunge into actions that are detrimental.One of our friends has demolished his house and started constructing 5 flats.He has drawn plan accurately according to regulations and got Corporation approval also.But while constructing he entirely changed even the outer walls beyond the limit inspite of our friendly advices.He said that his neighbour has just gone abroad and before he returns the building will be over and within a year can be regularized by buttering the palms of corporation officials.
    All pillars erected.He was about to put ceiling on 23rd January, Monday.Just two days back, the neighbour arrived as his son's wedding was suddenly fixed.He just registered an 'on line' complaint to the corporation and handed over letters by hand also_On Monday morning officials arrived and stalled the entire operation.As the violation was not in the permissible limit,the corporation ordered demolision.Now all the pillars are being demolished.He has lost nearly Rs18 lakhs.
    Now he laments'there are so many violations in Chennai.Why should I alone be punished.?
    So many people steal.Only a few are caught.The fact that many escape punishment is not a justifiable reason to transgress regulations.
    The corporation also does not visit the building sites and do not verify whether norms are followed.But if any complaint is recd,they take severe action.
    There is no 'fear' of law.'Somehow'escape'has been the norm.His neighbour is very strong and influential and not 'a giving up 'person.
    To avoid further penalty he has to re do the construction as per rules.

    jayasala 42
     
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  6. Nonya

    Nonya Platinum IL'ite

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    Nice...
    here is some input from a firangi....
    We often quote FDR, and what he said to the citizens when the nation faced widespread unemployment, a great depression, and poverty. He said, "What we have to fear is fear itself".

    And decades later, Bernie Sanders quotes the same in his talk..
     
  7. smuruga

    smuruga Senior IL'ite

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    Hello Mam,
    I am a great fan of your writings. Such an amazing topic and you have penned down very beautifully. May god bless you with good health to do this great service. My mom have always said that good books can change you as a different person. Nowadays we don't have time to read lot of books but I always read your writings!
     
  8. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Muruga,
    Thank you for your kind response.

    Jayasala 42
     

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