Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

So what’s the harm in a little fear, you might ask — if fear has served such an important
purpose in our past, and if it continues to serve such an important purpose today, why
would we want to repair what is so obviously not broken?
Well, at the risk of sounding trite, I will get right to the heart of the matter with my
response: THERE IS MUCH MORE TO LIFE THAN MERELY SURVIVING. Indeed,
without the discovery of any breakthroughs in immortality research, we are all destined to
ultimately fail at the game of survival. And it is this acute reality that brings us to a
question that is the much more critical one – namely: If we are indeed destined to die,
how can we best thrive while still alive?
I would submit – at the risk of oversimplifying matters a bit – that there is essentially one
response to this question upon which all other responses must somehow build: In order
to thrive while alive, it is essential that we REPLACE FEAR WITH LOVE.
And when we examine the consequences that flow to all those whose lives are steeped in
any form of fear, the sense of this position becomes immediately clear …
*Consequence #01: FEAR SPAWNS ADDICTION …
Fear is not only the mother of all self-centered addictions, but the father as well. Indeed,
it is fear that is the foundation of every selfish attempt we make to cover over our ego’s
innate feelings of sadness with any addictive, ultimately self-destructive behavior. As
such, the more we allow our fear to rule the day, the more that day will be filled with
hollow, self-centered, suffering-inducing choices.
*Consequence #02: FEAR BREEDS ANGER, HATRED & VIOLENCE …
It is impossible to be angry with anyone or anything or any belief without simultaneously
fearing that person, thing or belief. When fear goes unchallenged in our minds, our
desires to protect ourselves from seeming threats to our happiness, our wealth and even
our existence crystallize into free-flowing anger towards those perceived dangers.
As human history has conclusively shown over the past 10,000+ years, this anger then
further crystallizes into exclusivist religions that persecute other faiths, aggressive nationstates
that preemptively attack their enemies, and hateful bigots who abuse others they
deem “impure”.
*Consequence #03: FEAR NEUTERS LOVE …
Possibly the most damning of all evils engendered by angst is the inability to
simultaneously know real Love. In-deed, it is physically, mentally and emotionally
impossible to simultaneously exude caring, compassion, empathy, kindness, or any other
form of Love while in a fearful state of mind. Fear is completely future-oriented and
fully self-fixated, while Love is completely rooted in the Here&Now and fully selfless.
The two simply cannot co-exist, ever or in any way …
As such, because Love is the very essence that gives our limited lives their greatest sense
of Purpose & Meaning & Joy, we simply must set fear aside in favor of Love if we are
ever to revel in the same.
260