Fear is the absence of faith. Paul Tillich
The biblical story of David’s triumph over Goliath demonstrates the above quote in action. It was David’s complete faith in his abilities that gave him the courage to take on what almost everyone present saw as a battle of unequals. Yet with his immense faith in his ability to hit the bulls eye with his sling shot David took up the challenge and overpowered Goliath. Closer home, in the more modern context the exploits of social activists and particular RTI activists who challenge the might of the establishment at great personal risk, is a shining example of how those with faith have no fear and boldly march in where angels fear to tread.
While it is true that danger lurks in every corner, living in fear is just a cowardly act and a no brainer. What one needs to clearly identify are the real dangers and the imaginary fears. There is real danger for any solider on the battle front but a well prepared army always has a full complement of fearless soldiers. They have full faith in their training, their equipment, their team members and their commanders and so they are fearless. On the other hand there could be mission specific dangers like deactivating mines or attempting to blow up an outlook post which is well and only the brave hearts are entrusted such jobs. Here too the danger multiplies multifold but the man of the moment has faith in his commander, his mission skills and his ability to meet up to the lofty standards he has set for himself.
Unfortunately there are far too many people who commit suicide or attempt to commit suicide and the reason for such drastic action have a common theme; their fear of the future which in effect is lack of faith in themselves and the society around them. It could be fear of bankruptcy or the fear of social stigma or fear of one’s fall from grace or fear of parental retribution; they simply lack faith in their own abilities to fight back and / or lose faith the society (in which they are) to be more understanding and charitable. Take the case of a rape victim who believes that society at large would view her as and / or label her as defiled, destroyed and deplorable. She has no faith that her honor can be restored in society and perhaps has no faith that the criminals will be brought to justice.
Ironically almost all of us reading this can easily pinpoint to hundreds of examples in our lives where our lack of faith has translated into fear of being proactive. We lack the faith in our ability to write so we fear writing letters to the editor to complain; we lack faith in our ability to stand up for our rights so we fear the consequences of fighting for justice; we lack faith in ourselves to be change agents so we fear any form of change in the status quo; the list is endless and the reality an eye opener. Believe in yourself if you want to be your true self!
Remember: “You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.” Mary Manin Morrissey
Try this:
- Jot down 3 colors that you are not very fond of. Write it down before you read further. Are you clear in your mind what those colors are? Click on the color palette on a word document page and clearly identify the colors you are not fond of. Your challenge now is to incorporate any one of those colors into clothes that you buy next. Were your fears / apprehensions valid? Did people appreciate that dress when you wore it? Try buying clothes that have the other 2 colors too.
- Attempt to do something that you have always be afraid of. It could be wearing a bikini or handling a snake or experimenting with some exotic dishes. When you start overcoming your fears you will realize that your faith in yourself is restored. Enjoying the new experience will be a big bonus too.
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
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