FEAR NO MORE

UNEDITED SAMPLE LITERARY ARTICLE
By Christine Joy Ombania de Asis
IV-Madame Marie Curie


Once there was a patient who was heard screaming and seen running away minutes before his operation. Scared and was completely terrified, the patient was asked by one of the nurses to calm down and tell her everything that caused his fear. The patient explained that he heard the assistant nurse inside the Operating Room saying, “Don’t worry. God will help you”. The nurse was very surprised and confused and questioned the nervous patient what was wrong with the other nurse’s statement. The patient replied, “She wasn’t talking to me, she was talking to the doctor!”

All of us have fears. Sometimes, in a more scientific sense, we call them phobias. But what are fears? According to my friend, Mr Webster, fear is an unpleasant, often strong feeling or emotion caused by expectation or awareness of danger. It is something we are afraid to be, afraid to have, afraid to see, afraid to hear, afraid to touch, afraid to smell, or afraid to experience. It is also serves as a warning to a greater threat. It has different kinds, types, sometimes it is caused by various factors and such. But I am not here to talk about the facts concerning fear. I am here to reflect and dig deeper on what is there beyond the thing that makes us worried, alarmed, panicked, and apprehended.

Fears are indeed very natural. For no man has lived fearless of anything, it is undeniably a part of our entire being. However, fears, when pictured to the maximum, will become a glitch in our emotion and mental health. Well, any disorder is abnormal, so in this case fear is not natural. But like I have said, I did not write this just to tell you whether or not a fear is abnormal, or what these mental illnesses are. I really don’t know them. So let us just put aside those “phobias” or should I say “really big phobias” of yours that will cause you to qualify for a very serious mental counseling or something like that. That is critical. And that is different too because what I am referring here is something that we are experiencing in our everyday lives, “natural fear” per se. Just think of it as a very usual and expected thing that is likely to happen such as boogers that we need to get rid off our nose, or challenges that we need to encounter. And just like any other boogers or challenges, fears are something we need to overcome.

But don’t get me wrong, similar to any other’s opinion on which comes first, an egg or a chicken, people have different perspective about fear. Just take this for example, during a bloodcurdling and hair-raising moment of a roller coaster ride, some people would say “Oh my gosh, I will never ever go back and try that thing again!” On the other hand, some people would exclaim “Wow, that was awesome! I want more!” There are people who do not like the experience of feeling afraid or taking the risk. While others find the rush of fear exciting, to the point that they might seek out the thrill of extreme sports or savor the scariest horror flicks. It was said that we need to overcome our fears, and we really have to. So if that’s the case, can we just reason out that the latter are perhaps courageous enough to be able to face and withstand what thrills them the most? Is courage the weapon you really need to beat your fears? Is courage the opposite of fear? The answer is no.

More often than not, we sometimes get the idea of courage being the opposite of fear. Well in fact, most of the courageous moments were done out of fear. Yes, there are some who treat fear negatively. However, there are some who see fear as their motivating fuel to break what hinders them from moving. We must also admit that we sometimes get the wrong notion of fear that is something unbearable, futile and worthless. Something that buries us underneath, well actually it is what that makes us strong and tough. Those adventurous people did not ride that roller coaster just because they were brave; it was because they were afraid that they might never ever get that experience, the experience which they could only get from riding that roller coaster. Alexander the Great did not defeat his enemies just because he was brave; it was because he was afraid that his enemies would get a hold of his extensive territory. Soldiers do not come to battle just because they are brave; it is because they are afraid that the terrorists might attack and assault our country. Dying people do not fight death just because they are brave; it is because they are afraid to die. Sometimes, most of the courageous moments were done out of fear. And for that matter, courage is not the opposite of fear. Courage is the product of fear.

So what is the opposite of fear? It is faith. It is the weapon we really need to beat and overcome our fears. It is what we are lacking, what we are longing, and what we are searching for. It is our medicine when we are paralyzed by our fears. It is our antidote when we are poisoned by our fears. It is our food when we are starved by our fears. It is what we have in the midst of conquering trials and miseries. Because we believe that at the end of the day, we will learn new lessons, we become tougher than before, we believe that there is a good God, who is sending these fear factors to us to finally make us realize and triumph over our weaknesses. He allows us to have our fears not to bury us six feet under, but to make us think that we need Him and we must have faith in Him. And It is very true that most of the courageous moments were done out of fear, and were done through faith. Faith in their comrades, faith in themselves and most importantly faith in God. Because faith, not courage, is what these brave people used to cancel out fear, for fear is the absence of faith. You are not going take the risk of plunging into the sea because you are brave; it is because you believe that you will float and buoyancy will prevent you from sinking. So don’t get too paralyzed over your fears, don’t get too paranoid. Do you know that 40% of our fears are totally unrealistic, impossible and fictitious? While 25% are possible but will not really going to happen. 18% are happening right now but we are not aware of. And what will only happen are the remaining 12%.Well, the only point here is that fear is only in our imagination. Maybe your lack of faith is making you believe in the things you should not believe in. Just remember that fear is not something you should be afraid of. Face them; take control of them through your faith, for faith is what keeps us moving and alive.