[Originally published April 19, 2021]
From my journal March 14, 2021
I’ve seen more fear in my world in the last year than I have in my entire life. It’s been an extreme challenge, and caused me to spend a fair amount of time thinking about what fear does to a mind. Just a few important ones to consider:
Fear can block rational thinking. Fear is the emotion triggered by the limbic fight-or-flight response. The fact fear can shut down the reasoning frontal cortex is a simple matter of cause and effect. But because God is so big on honoring personal will, is it possible for a person with a deeply held value system - who constantly taps into it through personal practice - to block the fight-or-flight response?
Fear can override compassion and charity. Prophets who have been given the discouraging and often life-threatening assignment of preaching to dying societies always preach about faith, hope, and charity. I wonder - is charity particularly important in a dying society because fear is so rampant? Is it possible that practicing charity can help override fear?
Fear can trigger anger. Fear is a primary emotion; anger is a secondary. Fearful people can be easily manipulated to become angry people, and angry people can be easily manipulated to violence. Fear can be a powerful weapon in the hands of power mongers. Is it possible that practicing controlling anger can help lessen this trigger from fear?
Fear inhibits connection. Fear turns every other child of God into a soulless ‘It’ - an ‘Other’ who is so different from ourselves, we can’t possibly see anything in common with them. In the absence of fear, we can more clearly see all others as sacred like ourselves - with thoughts and feelings and fears and phobias like ours. Is it possible that in practicing seeing others like ourselves, we can inhibit our fears?
Fear erodes faith. It has been said that faith and fear can’t co-exist, and I believe it. Fear is walking on water towards a Savior we very often can’t see, yet keeping our eye on the waves beneath our feet; faith is walking towards a Savior, and with an eye of faith, keeping our eye on a beloved Face which we WILL see with our physical eyes one day.
I can tell I’ve spent a good part of this last year in the stages of grief as I’ve mourned how successful the fear campaign has been with people all over the world. I’ve experienced denial that fear is driving any of the dramatic changes we’ve seen, and optimistically hoped that reason would eventually prevail. I’ve experienced anger at what has felt like a complete abandonment of common sense, common interests, and common values. And I’ve finally come to an acceptance that none of these problems will be solved without Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the solution. Even those who don’t want to recognize Him as the Son of God and Savior of the world would do well to consider His teachings as solutions: reason, compassion, charity, overcoming anger, connection, faith in unseen goodness.
We’re all walking on a pretty stormy sea now. Take a chance - look up from the waves and into the dearest Face I know. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God...” (Isaiah 41:10)
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