Denial of Fear
If I hurt, today I can own it and if I am afraid, I can admit rather
than hide it. Experiencing my own fear can make me so anxious that I try
to pretend it isn’t there. This is when I look for crutches to hold me
up. Owning my own fear actually gives me strength. It allows me not to
be caught off guard or get overly triggered by whatever frightens me.
When I know I am afraid, I have a stronger psychological position than
when I deny that part of myself.
It’s okay for me to be afraid.
[We] frame the situation in such a way that we can once again open
ourselves to new possibilities of response to suffering. They can turn
our attention to an examination of the reactions that suffering triggers
off in us. Up to now these reactions have been rooted not only in fear
but in the denial of fear. Merely to be mindful of this pattern is to be
one step closer to our own truth and, in turn, to the truth of someone
else’s suffering. Truth is where we will meet. Simply acknowledging our
reactiveness to pain, therefore, is itself an initial act of service.
Ram Dass and Paul Gorman from “How Can I Help?”