No Fear

“When you no longer perceive the world as hostile, there is no more fear, and when there is no more fear, you think, speak and act differently.” – Eckhart Tolle

Is the world a scary place?

Sure.

Is the world a scarier place than the one we remember as kids?

No. We just know more about it.

Fear is a terrific tool for keeping control of the masses; if properly applied, it can be deadlier than any weapon of mass destruction. How many of us were terrified we were going to die for pinching a cookie off the cooling rack when we were kids? Ever wonder why there’s so much bad news on the nightly broadcast? It’s not because there’s more bad stuff out there; it’s just that bad stuff is “more interesting”, it garners more ratings, and ultimately makes the commercial purveyors of paranoia rich beyond our wildest dreams.

One of those annoyingly ubiquitous telemarketers whose technology has nullified the point of having an unlisted number recently managed to snare me into hearing the spiel—she was hawking an internet security service that would monitor my personal information and alert me to anyone attempting to steal my identity. This service wouldn’t stop the theft; it would only warn me that my info had been compromised. All I had to do was pay a monthly fee and regularly check my email for any notification of nefarious doings. To get off the phone, I agreed to the 30 day free trial and the brochure arrived by mail a few days later.

I looked it over as a matter of interest, certainly not with any real intent to sign up. As I read, I realized (duh) that a company cleverly associated with my financial institution was hoping to incite a paranoia of something that, yes, is happening elsewhere and may happen to me … but is it likely? Am I going to live in fear of a possibility? Heck, I live in an earthquake zone that’s 100 years overdue for the Big One!

I didn’t wait for 30 days before calling to say that I wouldn’t be buying the service. When I was asked why, I politely replied that I refuse to live in fear of my own email account. Imagine, checking every day for a notification, not seeing one, breathing a sigh of relief for the stay of execution, then having a heart attack when one day I open the inbox and …

I do admit to a slightly paranoid regret after the call. I imagined being red-flagged and thus given preferential treatment for a security breach.

See how clever they are? Be more clever. Don’t buy in. Live your life without fear. See the world for the wonderful, beautiful, magical place it is. When scary things happen, trust that all will end well because it will. You’ll get through it and somehow, even if it seems unlikely or impossible, you’ll be all right.

We all will.

With love,