Fear is the most primal instinct of us. It is what drives us to survive, to avoid danger, to protect ourselves and our loved ones. But fear is also what limits us, what prevents us from exploring, from learning, from growing. I don't think fear can be dealt with rationality. No matter how much we know, how much we reason, how much we logic, fear will always be there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
One of the writers who influenced me the most is H.P. Lovecraft, who was very popular for writing cosmic horror stories. He used to say the greatest fear is the fear of unknown. And we weren't supposed to voyage far into the cosmic ocean. He imagined a universe where humans are insignificant, where ancient and powerful beings exist beyond our comprehension, where madness and despair are the only outcomes of encountering the truth. His stories are terrifying, not because of the monsters he describes, but because of the implications they have for our existence.
I think the self-actualization of death makes a tremendous shift into how people create and modulate their thoughts. Even though we all know on papers we're gonna die, none of us actually believe it happen until in deathbed. We can go through our daily lives and function with chores because we've built up the narrative of permanence... and society, nation, religion. All act as a glue to bind us together, make us feel part of a greater something which will always exist even if we don't. But this trick only works as long as we believe it works. What happens when we lose our faith, when we question our identity, when we face a crisis that shatters our illusions?
I do not slip into this subject usually because it's a slippery slope which often leads to spirituality and other hocus pocus. Positive energy, quantum energy and other jargons are very popular to describe this topic which ultimately discusses nothing that you already don't know but the enlightenment gurus are aware of fear and confusion inside people's brain. One such guy is Deepak Chopra, he even aired on Netflix. I cannot help but to say that I'm not a big fan of him. He claims to have the answers to the mysteries of life, the secrets of the universe, the keys to happiness and health. He uses scientific terms and concepts without understanding them, he mixes them with religious and philosophical ideas without evidence, he sells them to the masses without ethics.
And I realized if you stretch long enough, all the great questions that puzzling humanity since its dawn become a paradox. Our conventional reasoning never leads to anywhere at that point. Why do we exist? What is the purpose of life? What is the nature of reality? What is good and evil? What is the origin and destiny of the universe? These are questions that have fascinated and frustrated humans for millennia, and yet we are no closer to finding definitive answers. Every answer leads to another question, every explanation leads to another problem, every solution leads to another dilemma.
So where does that leave us? Are we doomed to live in fear, ignorance, and despair? Are we destined to be deceived, manipulated, and exploited? Are we condemned to be paradoxical, irrational, and contradictory? I don't know. Maybe there is no answer, maybe there is no meaning, maybe there is no truth. Maybe we are just here, and that's it. Maybe we have to make our own meaning, our own truth, our own purpose. Maybe we have to face our fear, embrace our death, and create our meaning. Maybe that's the best we can do.
What do you think? Do you have any insights or experiences to share? I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Thank you for reading. 😊
Image Credit:
Arnold Böcklin, Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle, detail, 1872. Oil on canvas. Nationalgalerie der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin.
The Scream, Edvard Munch.
