Wonderful exploration of the concept of fear, Reginald! Love the etymology of course, as part of unpicking this tangled mess of primary emotion. So many parts of your piece rang true when compared with my own experiences in life. I hadn't considered the horizontal spiral, which is a great image! I'd only grappled with the downward, then inverting it in a vertical flip to spiral upward. I think the most significant thing fear has taught me is that it subsumes all else: an emotion meant to protect us, in the absence of primal danger, only paralyzes and impedes our ability to think clearly. Keep up the good thinking and writing!
Thank you Kate! I'm glad you took the time to read this post. I very much enjoy your support!! 🙂 Thank you for reading 🙏🏾
You so right about how fear paralyzes is. Sometimes I wonder have we removed so many primal threats that we now must make new ones, and because they aren't genuine threats our fear responses become...wonky and destructive.
That is a wonderfully astute insight! Fear as maladaptive. Reminds me of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock, and that was written in 1970, 54 years ago, before PCs and the internet. Whoa.
I have exactly the same first and second fears. And, I stayed in the job I should have left years ago for the same reason! I was afraid of being a bad person, of disappointing others. Instead, I had chosen to disappoint myself.
What a complex mechanism our psyche is 🤯 Always a pleasure to read someone else's take on some part of it!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power of love and a sound mind. Two different types of fear. One is reverential , one is depleting. Good write sir.
Thank you, Reginald Clay. Your reflections resonate with my experience and are very helpful in moving my thinking along which can be difficult and....loopy...and discouraging.
Your observation "on disproportionate energy exchanges" is so true. When this pattern starts young young, the cement is hard to crack and takes a certain strength/agility. In my mind, I compare me to an aspiring basketball player. I am trying to learn how to pivot, pause, aim and then toss. At 87, It's possible and not often probable that I will make a basket.
Wonderful exploration of the concept of fear, Reginald! Love the etymology of course, as part of unpicking this tangled mess of primary emotion. So many parts of your piece rang true when compared with my own experiences in life. I hadn't considered the horizontal spiral, which is a great image! I'd only grappled with the downward, then inverting it in a vertical flip to spiral upward. I think the most significant thing fear has taught me is that it subsumes all else: an emotion meant to protect us, in the absence of primal danger, only paralyzes and impedes our ability to think clearly. Keep up the good thinking and writing!
Thank you Kate! I'm glad you took the time to read this post. I very much enjoy your support!! 🙂 Thank you for reading 🙏🏾
You so right about how fear paralyzes is. Sometimes I wonder have we removed so many primal threats that we now must make new ones, and because they aren't genuine threats our fear responses become...wonky and destructive.
That is a wonderfully astute insight! Fear as maladaptive. Reminds me of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock, and that was written in 1970, 54 years ago, before PCs and the internet. Whoa.
I have exactly the same first and second fears. And, I stayed in the job I should have left years ago for the same reason! I was afraid of being a bad person, of disappointing others. Instead, I had chosen to disappoint myself.
What a complex mechanism our psyche is 🤯 Always a pleasure to read someone else's take on some part of it!
Oh man! You've been there too!! I'm glad we can look back at it now and observe the journey.
Yeah! It's great to be on the other side of it, extracting wisdom from the whole journey.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power of love and a sound mind. Two different types of fear. One is reverential , one is depleting. Good write sir.
Thank you Donald!!
Thank you, Reginald Clay. Your reflections resonate with my experience and are very helpful in moving my thinking along which can be difficult and....loopy...and discouraging.
Your observation "on disproportionate energy exchanges" is so true. When this pattern starts young young, the cement is hard to crack and takes a certain strength/agility. In my mind, I compare me to an aspiring basketball player. I am trying to learn how to pivot, pause, aim and then toss. At 87, It's possible and not often probable that I will make a basket.
Mary, thank you for reading 🙏🏾.
For some reason I feel very touched to learn your age AND hear that my words resonated with you. To me there's something special about that...
Keep shooting, it's admirable 🙂