We are all motivated by fear in some way or another. This is the base instinct that drives most of what we do and can only be overcome with a lot more inner work than most of us (me. I’m looking at me.) are willing to do. The problem is that fear comes to us disguised as so many other things and, when we often can’t even recognize it in ourselves how in the world are we supposed to recognize it in other people?
When I think about it, all of these decisions that we see in others that we judge as wrong or right are often decisions based on fear. A lot of people voted for Trump out of fear of things like change, losing jobs, or extremists. I didn’t vote for Trump out of fear for the wellbeing of women and immigrants, the environment, etc. I’d venture to say that a lot of what Trump does (whether he realizes it or not) is fear-based: fear of rejection, what people think of him, losing, things of that nature.
With this in mind, instead of seeing responses of fear and jumping into battle, I’ve been trying to see the fear behind the response, and I’m hoping I can learn to address that fear as a person who also feels fear. A great quote I heard from a friend says, “A rising tide raises all ships.” Somehow, that analogy makes me feel better than the one that keeps coming to mind when I scroll through Facebook or the news, one of two sides throwing bombs at each other until all that’s left is devastation. This week, my challenge is to try to rise the tide a little through my interactions. I want to see where the fear is and feel compassion for it instead of defending against it.
This week, my challenge is to try to rise the tide a little through my interactions. I want to see where the fear is and feel compassion for it instead of defending against it.
Our motto in The Last City is “fight fear with curiosity.”
How can we live into that?
Recent Comments