I remember having a conversation with a fellow workshop attendee at a retreat center in Austin, Texas many years ago.
Somehow, the topic strayed onto fear, and how many people were driven primarily by their fears, even while they claimed that their primary motivation was love.
A long philosophical discussion and exploration followed, in which we revisited the statement that the "opposite" of love is really not hate, but fear.
However, what has always stuck with me most clearly from that old encounter is the fact that the person I was talking to spoke at some length about the "FEAR of God." He suggested that a lot of people in the world were only being "good" because they had the fear of God in them.
At the time, it just underscored my general "issues" with religions, in this case reconciling an ostensibly "loving" God with people living in FEAR of aforesaid God's judgment.
But this isn't a post about God, spirituality or religion... it's a post about fear.
A Depressing World...?
Sometimes I look around me at the greater world and struggle to not start feeling sad and depressed.
I watch so many people — even some of those I know well — living in a constant state of fear over one thing or another. It feels quite subtle, at times, like we have just all been "trained" to worry about the worst-case scenario and outcome in every single situation we walk into.
"Yeah, but what if something goes horribly WRONG?"
So we forego eating our all-time favorite food because 1-in-1000 people develop ulcers as a result of eating that food. Seems like everything can cause illness and death.
And what does that leave us with?
I find myself sighing deeply and feeling for the many who who seem so fearful of everything that they barely can move. Maybe not in a real sense, but figuratively speaking, meaning that they are fearful of reaching for anything they truly want, lest it upsets a very delicately balanced "apple cart."
Of course, the cynics and conspiracy theorists are quick to point out that "they" want to keep everyone living in fear, because we are more easily "herded" and kept in line when we are always afraid.
Whereas I see the core truth in such assertions, I am not entirely convinced that we are not creating most of our fears, ourselves... the "seeds" are being sown by external suggestions, sure, but we create the actual fears.
I think of the myriad times someone sends me some panic-stricken meme or "article" about something absolutely horrible going on... and it takes no more than two minutes or research and a little common sense to determine that (A) there is absolutely no evidence for it being true — the sky is NOT "falling" — and (B) it is actually four years old and has been doing the rounds on the web all that time.
Again, I feel a little sadness... someone sent me this — ostensibly with "good intentions" — ultimately with the motivation "here's something to be terrified of!"
But why? Why do you want to be terrified? Why are you actively looking for things to be terrified of?
We Don't Have to Look Far!
Seems there is always something to be afraid of... even close at hand.
"What if the government outlaws cryptocurrency?"
"What if Hive goes to 10 cents?"
"What if we have hyperinflation?"
And what if they don't? What if crypto simply becomes what it originally set out to be? What if there isn't some giant economic meltdown that results in "starvation and blood in the streets," but instead just a gradual restructuring of the economic system, as we know it?
Have we really become so jaded that the only thing we actually pay attention to is some version of "death and dismemberment," rather than just quiet gradual change?
Of course, it's not a new conundrum. The journalistic phrase "if it bleeds, it leads" is quite old... referring to the fact that aforesaid "death and dismemberment" sells news far better than good news.
Maybe we just want to live in fear! That's a scary thought...
Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your weekend!
How about YOU? What is your relationship with fear? Do you think there is too much fear in the world; that we are too fear-based? Or is it all just "reality?" Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20220924 14:13 PDT
0656/1902
There is always a fine balance between, "This is a potential problem to work around," and, "OH MY GOD WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING NOW!" Precaution versus paranoia, I suppose.
Winter is coming. Take steps for snow, power outages, and supply chain problems. The economy is in a bad place. Take steps to avoid getting crushed. But try not to be fearful.
I also see a lot of fear and hate combined when people discuss politics. Some is well-founded in the artificial zero-sum game of government policy, but a lot is senseless divisiveness.
Hopefully my word salad makes sense in context. !PIZZA
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In my opinion, to be an outstanding cynical and a successful defensive pessimist in life, you actually have to have a prominent & distinguished sense of humor.
I'm singing loudly to blot out all this noise about doom and gloom.
I would like to think of myself as a realist, knowing the world is in a bad place but hoping for a change in the wind and a few other things to put it back on the road to recovery.
We have to hope for the positive, don't we? It can happen.
Crypto can go back to the original intent.
Russia could pull out from Ukraine
Food could be affordable once more
Pigs could learn to fly
It's going to get better. It has to.
Dear @denmarkguy,
May I ask you to review and support the Dev Marketing Proposal (https://peakd.com/me/proposals/232) we presented on Conference Day 1 at HiveFest?
The campaign aims to onboard new application developers to grow our ecosystem. If you missed the presentation, you can watch it on YouTube.
You cast your vote for the proposal on Peakd, Ecency,
Thank you!