Fear is not a nice feeling.

Many of us struggle with fears every day, some of them crippling, some of them irrational. We spend a lot of time trying to cope with them, or free ourselves from them. But as unpleasant as fear is, I think we’re wrong to demonize it to the extent we have.

In our modern culture, we’ve demonized fear, and we’ve placed trust on a pedestal. Naturally, we feel then feel guilty when we don’t immediately trust someone, and feel ashamed to admit to the fears that we have.

This video, made by a Vancouver film student, Nata Metlukh, is a powerful illustration of our relationship with our fears.

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~Sometimes we feed our fears too much and they swallow us, like the woman in the elevator. Sometimes, like the big man afraid of mice, our fears are disproportionate or unfounded. Just as giving trust without first searching for trustworthiness is dangerous, living without fear in a world with very real dangers leaves us vulnerable and exposed.

Fears exist to alert us to danger. Our fears are the little watchdogs in our brains telling us when something is threatening our boundaries. Rather than rejecting our fears and feeling ashamed when they still inevitably crop up in our lives, I think we could show them a little love. After all, these little fears usually have our best interest at heart, even when they’re overreacting or irrational. We can train our fears to be better watchdogs if we try to work with them instead of eradicating them completely.

What is your fear trying to protect you from? Sit with your fear and ask it. It might tell you something surprising.

 

Author: Kathryn Muyskens

Editor: Travis May

Photo: Video Still