We all know the feeling of fear. It’s a silent visitor that “crawls through without calling,” a chilling presence that “goes through my bone” and “impacts me with uncertainty.” With its seemingly unjust reasoning, it can feel like a force that exists only to “eradicate joy purposefully.” But what if this emotion, which has the power to “imprison our mind,” also contains the secret to drive us forward? What if its true purpose is not to diminish us, but to serve a deeper, more constructive function in our lives?
Fear isn’t just an enemy; it’s a messenger.
What if we considered that this creature’s primary function isn’t to paralyze, but to awaken? The first step in transforming our relationship with fear is to reframe its purpose. While it may feel like a malicious force intent on creating worry, we can learn to see it as a powerful messenger. Its function is to alert us, to connect us more deeply and immediately to our present situation. It is simply a call to attention, a signal asking us to tune into our reality.
Its function is to make us aware
To be attuned with our reality
Within this unpleasant feeling lies a key to your renewal.
Though fear is undeniably unpleasant, the feeling itself holds a powerful secret. Hidden within the discomfort is a “daring possibility” for growth. This silent visitor highlights the exact areas where we are being called to evolve. It can “teach us our next move,” and by facing it with awareness, we can “renew our core being” and find the momentum to propel ourselves forward.
It is unpleasant and yet,
Contains a daring possibility,
Befriend the creature to learn its features.
Our instinct is to fight fear, to resist it, or to surrender to its shouting in the silence. This adversarial stance only gives the creature more power. A more radical approach is to shift from combat to curiosity. This requires a “strong will”—not the will to fight, but the will to become a warrior who is “solid and stronger,” capable of observing this creature without being consumed by it. By choosing to “befriend this creature,” we can begin to learn its unique features and understand the wisdom it is trying to communicate.
Fear can be a teacher
A teacher without plan
Befriend this creature
And learn its feature
To move forward, you must first feel its presence.
You cannot outrun or ignore fear into submission. The path forward requires a moment of stillness and acknowledgment. The key to breaking the “vicious circles” of worry—which have a way of “emptying and removing” our vitality—is to stop and simply feel its presence. Only after you have truly felt it can you consciously use that awareness as a catalyst for action. This is how you learn to “take events with two hands,” “move with a clever flow,” and begin to “construct beautiful beginning.”
Remember to forget fear
And feel the unspoken
Feel its presence with you
Then move towards future
A New Conversation with Fear
By reframing fear from a prison to a teacher, we can fundamentally change our reality. This misunderstood emotion is not an enemy to be defeated, but a guide to be understood—a force that can either imprison us or drive us forward, all depending on our willingness to listen.
If you were to quiet the noise and listen, what daring possibility is your fear whispering to you right now?