Fear.
It’s something that has seized hold of all of us at one time or another. As I mentioned to someone else most recently, I used to be so filled with fear that I had a perpetual knot in my stomach. I can only look back at that time in my life and wonder how it is that I never ended up developing an ulcer.
Fear.
It’s that which seems to be the driving force for much of humanity’s behavior these days.
Why shouldn’t it? one may ask. After all, there is a lot to be frightened of these days.
I suppose, given where many people are standing, this is likely to be the case. Economic downturns, natural disasters, droughts that cause a shortage in consumable resources, Us vs Them… Indeed, there is much one can find to be frightened of.
I also suppose it doesn’t help that the media is in need of financial support by way of sponsors/advertisers. And… what corporation, in its right mind, is going to buy advertising time on a station that doesn’t have an ample amount of viewers? In this day and age, how does a station gain viewers and keep viewers watching? Shock and awe. Those things and situations that induce fear, as well as the opportunity to witness the pain and suffering of others.
How sick is that???
This is something that Ashtoreth and I were discussing via online journal most recently.
She was talking about the rampant fear washing over her community with the approach of Sandy. People crowding the store, many with multiple baskets filled to the brim with foodstuffs…
Fear is a powerful thing. Often, when one is reacting from a place of fear, he/she is not thinking straight. Such was the case with these people, who were stocking up on perishable items, which – unless they had a generator – would inevitably go bad in the case of a power outage.
As I see it… this fear, this mass panic… It is not anything new, no. I have witnessed it myself when a blizzard was said to be making its way toward the community in which I lived last year. A blizzard that never came and didn’t even appear to be coming to those who tracked the storm via NOAA rather than a local station or even the Weather Channel. ‘Fear porn’. That is what Ashtoreth termed it, and I believe that is a most accurate way to describe it. It is needless, but definitely has a way of inciting panic.
And… I have an unfortunate feeling that there are more situations like this yet to come in humanity’s future and not just due to situations instigated by nature.
This from a recent post written by the Visionkeeper at One World Rising:
“It is a given that the economy is soon to implode as well it should, unfortunately when this happens many people will panic and a possible tsunami of fear may follow.”
Such was actually a topic for discussion among my UU Fellowship this past week… We admitted that we didn’t see how things would turn around, even if they could, but what would we do, if they didn’t?
Situations, I believe, would return to a more simple time, a time when individuals turned to their communities; when communities would be at the heart of one’s economic and social world once more. And it will be those of us who are prepared; those of us who know a different way and are not panic stricken as we run around in circles… We will be, as the Visionkeeper went on to say, “the shelter from the storm”.
“If we are happy, if our lives continue to thrive amidst the downfall, others will wonder why and begin to ask questions. That is when we speak and offer a glimpse into a better way of living our lives. We must quell the panic at all costs for panic allowed to run free grows and intensifies as it is fed by the fear. We must be the balance that keeps the panic from tipping us over the edge.”
I believe it is up to us – those who are Awake or Awakening – to learn (if we have not done so already) more self-sufficient ways, to make a distinct effort toward preparedness. We do this not out of fear for what the future holds, but because common sense dictates it and points toward a need to do so. Only by being prepared and aware that there is a different, more self-sustaining way of approaching life can we show others while conveying a message of hope, of which others (the panic stricken) will certainly be in need.
“As long as people are aware that there are indeed alternative systems ready to take over then they will quiet down. It is the loosing the ground underneath them without knowing what comes next that creates fear, the thought of something failing and having no way to fix the situation.” ~ The Visionkeeper
Only then can we be the calm amidst the storm…
A Mental Mystic 
Spiritual World Traveler
October 31, 2012
I remember living in fear! And I remember making the distinct choice of not living that way any longer. It was when I decided to go to Egypt for 3 months by myself. Fear set in within hours. But I wanted to be there so badly, I chose to not be ruled by my fear. It was the greatest gift to myself. And you are right that our duty is to show the world that there is another way. A life of FREEDOM!
Much Love to you,
Zully