Enter the fear

At the core of every living being’s experience, from the tiniest bacteria to the most complex humans, is an innate response: fear. It’s a primal instinct, an alert system wired into our biology over millions of years. Even though a bacterium doesn’t possess consciousness or feelings, it has an inbuilt mechanism that guides it away from harmful environments. This instinct for self-preservation is the very foundation upon which the tapestry of life is woven.

It emerges from the deepest layers of our nervous system. This primal emotion arises from our reptilian brain, the ancient guardian of survival. Then it travels via the neural pathways through the limbic system. There fear gets mixed and blended with various hues and other signals.

Fear takes on different forms. It becomes greed, the insatiable appetite for more. It transforms into envy, longing for what others possess. It morphs into jealousy, guarding what we believe is rightfully ours. In the grand gallery of human emotions, fear is both the canvas and the hidden brushstroke that gives depth and complexity to our inner world.

Essentially it is pulling us back, limiting our options. It whispers into our ears:

— You are not going to make. It’s too risky. They will laugh. They are going to judge you. You don’t need it. Everything is fine.

And instead of creating our lives we sit with an anxious heart, literally paralyzed by imaginary troubles of the unknown waves yet to come.

Thus, we find ourselves suspended between what’s to come and what’s already been, yearning for control over tides we can’t predict or reverse. We seek solace and purpose. While navigating the waters of life with the hope that we’ll find our way.

“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” — Mark Twain

In the absence of actual fear, we construct more intricate emotions rooted in fear. Greed arises is the fear of loss, jealousy is the fear of not being loved, and envy is the fear of not being “enough”. In the end, we are afraid of the fear itself.

We cry wolf, but the wolf never comes.