The Power of Fear

THE POWER OF FEAR

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Reading the news about Fearless Felix, who broke through not only sound barrier while skydiving, but overcame his fear for closed spaces in his quest to set new and redefine human capabilities. I was fascinated to read that the man who had no qualms about heights and who dared to do feats that normally would make anyone of us, think twice, had almost given up on his dream of jumping from stratosphere, because he suffered from claustrophobia. Somehow, this endeared him more to me, made him more human and relatable, especially for someone like me, who is constantly struggling with unknown and unseen fears.

He also proved that fear is irrational, that being daring in some actions did not exonerate you completely from fear. Fear is unreasonable, can paralyze you into inaction or will be responsible in initiating you into reckless actions. All of us have different apprehensions, different thoughts about what is going to threaten our existence, most of it never exists or happen. Fear of death, change, losing a loved one, of being humiliated, failure, …. the list goes on, till you realize that all you need to fear is fear itself.

So, face the inner devil which nudges inactivates you, that pushes you in a corner and push the button of hope and faith to be free – free to live and soar the heights we are meant to reach.

Winnie the Pooh Wisdom – Quotes by A.A Milne

Ø      Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.

Ø      Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." 

Ø      Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known." 

Ø      Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.

Ø      The things that make me different are the things that make me.

Ø      Rivers know this there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.

Ø      The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."

Ø     
Pay attention to where you are going because without meaning you might get nowhere.

Ø      "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." 

Two girls - one story

The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration.- Pearl Buck

One week, 2 girls, two different continents, two different stories but both inspire in their own way. First story is of Amanda Todd, a 15 year old from BC, Canada who committed suicide after being exploited online. The other is a 15 year old girl from Pakistan - Malala who was shot in the head by extremists, for voicing her opinion about a girl’s right to education. Two girls, different stories superficially – yet both girls fought against bullying in their own way.

It takes courage to bare your soul and heart, to ask for help publicly, especially after being judged and shunned by your “friends”. She fought long and hard to find acceptance and I find it very distressing, that our human hearts are more concerned with judging than with compassion. Worst kind of bullying is one that hurts and destroys your spirit and no kid needs to go through it.

Malala is an obvious hero – a 15 year old being vocal in voicing her opinion about her ruthless bullies. To believe in something at such a young age, to be so bold and brave in a society that is repressive, is a feat in itself. I salute her !

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Amanda had met Malala online? What if she had known her story ? Somehow I feel, the outcome maybe would have been different.

It is said that the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.  My heart went out to the family of the young teenager who committed suicide , a life taken away too soon. I saw the video in which she shares her pain and opens up about how cyber bullying and isolation in school had led her to attempt suicide twice earlier. This video was posted on youtube 5 weeks before she died.

What is appalling that all the newspapers and media today are carrying reports about how she was bullied  and how this could have been prevented. Why wasn't there any support for her either from the media or her peers when she had narrated her story 5 weeks earlier? All she wanted was some support, someone to share her pain with, to be accepted.

Teenagers are confused, overloaded with whacky hormones. Girls looking for validation of their beauty, insecure in their worth are


In today's world, it is so easy for cowards to bully someone annoynmously, to espew hate and venom while being totally invisible. Social media can spread news and rumours like wildfire,and all it takes is just a spark of hatred mixed with ignorance and apathy to destroy reputation and in some instances life.

Social media with its "likes" and comments, makes it impossible for a kid with low self-esteem to be indifferent towards the way the world sees him/her. So how do we teach our kids to deal with insolent comments by strangers or "friends"?

Teach the kids - whether they use social media or not , that civillity




I am still astounded about how helpless we feel when a young life goes to waste and nothing is done to save it. Even as adults, we find it

Inspiring Quotes by Maya Angelou

If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.

There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.

We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders.

The first time someone shows you who they   are,believe them.

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.

 

God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us- in the dreariest and most dreaded moments- can see a possibility of hope.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

Lucky or unlucky

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who worked on the fields for many years. One day his horse ran away.  His neighbors who came to visit him, showing pity said “That’s too bad for you.”

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How lucky” the neighbors they said. .

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

I love this story for the simple fact that we are so quick to judge what happens in our life as lucky or unfortunate. Everything in our life happens for a reason – reason far beyond our understanding at the point of it occurring. We may not understand  the whys of it and being so close to it not see it clearly too, but from a distance, the panoramic view displays a different picture. All the people we meet, all the heartbreaks, disappointments have their roots in directing us to a higher elevation of human life.

Whenever I look back at my own life, I realize that all – the good, the bad that I am or that is in my life, is based on something that I thought was an adverse incident in my life. Life gives us opportunities in the form of undesirable situations everyday to rise above ourselves, to love, to give, to forgive, do the right thing and grow stronger.  

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Shedding negativity

Fall is here – leaves changing colors and geared up for change. If we look around us, everything in nature sheds or purges regularly. I am not even talking about ending the old, to ring in the new, no – it is just everyday, not only does our but also our minds and hearts are exposed to negative and toxic stimulants. It is a fact and although I am all for being positive thinking, you have to wipe clean the windows of your mind and heart of negativity, to let the light enter. Everything in nature sheds unwanted waste regularly, yet instead of acknowledging and letting go of our disappointments, loneliness, anger, we ignore them totally and mask it with smile.

In our life, in our emotional life, we have no system to regularly take stock and get rid of toxic emotions on daily basis. We shed skin, our cells renew, and in the same way we shed tears or vent our anger from time to time. In fact in the modern times, we love to be so busy, so that there is no time to analyze. We live under the illusion, that if that the water is never still, we will never be able to see the monster hiding in it and we are safe. Ignorance of self is bliss.

Spending time alone, acknowledging the presence of so called negative emotions, will help us expunge them and reenergize ourselves for new experiences. If we don’t sweep clean the unwarranted from our hearts and minds regularly, before long the damage it does will be beyond repair.