What would you do if you weren't afraid?
- Thread starter Milon
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Heh, oh yeah. Telling people off; that's something else I could add to my list 
You're on to something there, anica
You're on to something there, anica
I don't know if not being afraid would be a good thing as I'd probably be father to several different children.
- Nov 12, 2008
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The idea of that invokes a specefic emotional response for me, that doesn't have words. The best way I could describe it is, wonder, facenation, curiosity, excitement, and fear.
I have always wondered what it would be like to go down that road.
i try to face my fears every day to get over them and move on.
But i would be not as shy, not as scared as i would be of other people if i wasn't so fearful, i would be able to live life much better, and i assume that everyone else can to if they refuse to let their fears bother them. ^^
But i would be not as shy, not as scared as i would be of other people if i wasn't so fearful, i would be able to live life much better, and i assume that everyone else can to if they refuse to let their fears bother them. ^^
The road leads to a surreal landscape: an arid, featureless plain with no horizon in sight on which I wander endlessly until, without warning, I am transported to the stars where their music thunders in my ears. Cartoon characters speak to me from my pillow, and although I can't understand their words, I know they are trying to tell me something. A woman weeps outside my bedroom window. Her sorrow is heartbreaking but I can't reach her to comfort her. Sometimes I sleep for days but derive no rest from my long slumber. Other days I am energized after only an hour or two of sleep; my mind races with new ideas and I write and write. These are the best times. Sometimes I am naked and alone in the dark until my dog Swimmer finds me and, with his great, golden eyes, draws all the fear out of me.
Then, one day, unexpectedly, peace settles over me like a mantle and I go about my days with purpose and satisfaction in my work. I revise the writiing done while my mind was racing. I groom my dog and we go for walks. I prepare meals for myself and relish their taste. The rollercoaster ride is over...until next time.
I say that myself, but now I've got this whole new thing where the more time I spend alone, the more I prefer it and I'm starting to worry about that.. but only because close friends bring it up to me in a worried manner and their concern makes me concerned. whew.
Would this mean only losing irrational fears, or losing both rational and irrational fears? The latter would be very bad, and most of us would be dead within 24 hours of losing rational fear. But irrational fear is like a side effect of rational fear, and losing it would effect some far more than others, since some people have no phobias.
Levels of fear:
- I fear going to hell, and I fear what happens if there is no heaven too. I fear god. I fear that there is no god. I fear the devil. I fear that there is a devil.
- Therfore I fear death, the unknown, I fear failiure, I fear being insignificance, I fear the dark, I fear unlove, I fear insecurity
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I'd follow my experience of self wherever it led without considering social consequence.
I am so deep in the practical web of everyone else's expectations and need for me to express this way and behave that way, that I have difficulty getting through all the layers of where that journey of self-expression might finally resolve. I almost laugh at the first things that come up as possibilities because I can see they are options ridiculously tempered with practicality and fear of judgment or consequences. Perhaps if I were to really allow myself to travel through all the layers it would look something like this:
Though I see the definition of mad as only a demonstration that behavior and experience displaying far enough outside social norms and expectations can leave others disoriented and willing to ostracize for the protection of their own definition of sanity.
I am so deep in the practical web of everyone else's expectations and need for me to express this way and behave that way, that I have difficulty getting through all the layers of where that journey of self-expression might finally resolve. I almost laugh at the first things that come up as possibilities because I can see they are options ridiculously tempered with practicality and fear of judgment or consequences. Perhaps if I were to really allow myself to travel through all the layers it would look something like this:
anica said:
Though I see the definition of mad as only a demonstration that behavior and experience displaying far enough outside social norms and expectations can leave others disoriented and willing to ostracize for the protection of their own definition of sanity.
Quite possibly the most beautiful post ever written on this forum.. that I've read. You are a poet.
I'm surprised by the number of "that would be bad" responses. Not making any judgement calls; just surprised.
When it comes to things I'd regret doing (or regret not doing) I don't have fear as a motivator or inhibitor at all - at least, not that I've detected. I defer to my wisdom (such as it is) and judgement (limited as it is). If I were devoid of fear I would still do my utmost to be wise in all my actions regardless of how I felt. Does this put me in a minority then?
EDIT: I do have some irrational fears which do inhibit my life, and that's more or less what I was referring to when I posted originally. But I like seeing the varied responses here!
When it comes to things I'd regret doing (or regret not doing) I don't have fear as a motivator or inhibitor at all - at least, not that I've detected. I defer to my wisdom (such as it is) and judgement (limited as it is). If I were devoid of fear I would still do my utmost to be wise in all my actions regardless of how I felt. Does this put me in a minority then?
EDIT: I do have some irrational fears which do inhibit my life, and that's more or less what I was referring to when I posted originally. But I like seeing the varied responses here!
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Funny how fear bottles up love, eh? And yet it's love that helps us cast off fear. I hear a vicious cycle!
And out of curiosity, how are you (potentially?) being left behind?
I'd follow the warm weather, working at vacation resorts all over the world. (right after I finished saving the world)