Facing Our Fears

Not surprising that my post today (on All Hallows Eve-day) would have something to do with fear. While I'm not going to write about zombies (huge right now) or other terrifying figments of our individual and collective imaginations, I do want to write about two fears that get in the way of our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). The fears that I want to bring to light today are the fear of the unknown and the fear of things we can't control. Now, it doesn't take a huge intellect to see that the fears I've named are two sides of the same coin. Obviously, we can't control things that are unknown (and maybe unknowable). The unknown fears are things like, "how long will I live?", "what will my legacy be?", "what am I going to be when I grow up?", "will I make enough money to retire and not run out beofre I die?", etc. Uncontrollable things include items like "will my children grow up to be decent citizens of the global society?", "will my wife leave me for someone else?", "what's going to happen to me today?", etc. While we all have these fears, they become problematic when they start to interfere with how we approach living our lives. Fears can make us ill - both mentally and physically. Fears increase both our individual and communal dis-ease. Humans have always feared the unknown, especially the big one - "how long will I live?". We have created theologies to help us explain the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" that beset us. We have come to the conclusion that all we have is us and we should grab as much as we can get while we're here. Nothing that we have created has done a lot to calm the fears of what lies ahead for each of us, and for all of us. We live in an enlightened time with many resources. We live in a frightening time with many challenges to our continued existence. How can we come to grips with the fact that much (if not all) of our public and private policy and discourse has its root in fear? Fear continues to be an issue in our unhealthy choices because we will not confront it. We will not name that which causes us to be afraid - partially because we believe that if we admit to fear then we are weak. This only serves to foster fear and to create an ever smaller and more dysfunctional world. If I fear the outside world, then I will fortify myself behind every gadget and lock there is. I will surround myself with bodyguards and weaponry to "protect what is mine". I will attack those who seek to get "my treasure" and in fact, I will invent a reason to first-strike to eliminate any perceived threat. Is it any wonder that we in the U.S. spend so much on the DoD, personal security devices, safety deposit boxes, safes, etc.? We are a fearful people who have barricaded ourselves behind our security devices so that we can die with all of our things around us. Hmmm, fear is a potent force limiting our HW2. So, this week in the midst of ghouls and goblins of all types (yes, zombies too), I'd like you to list your top 5 fears. Once you list them, I'd like you to do some work on where they come from and what you can do to illuminate and discard them. I've found that an intentional prayer and spiritual life really help to alleviate my need to fear and to control. This freedom has allowed my world to expand. I wish the same for all of you! Peace for the journey, Dan