Since the pandemic started, news media and governments have successfully put the human population in fear, in order to control the populace with the aim of preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
Initially the fear of death spread far and wide, followed by the fear of uncertainty, the fear of losing our livelihood, our homes, our security. One could say that we are now a species that is gripped with fear.
It dawned on me today that we don’t have a collective problem with fear. We have a collective problem of accessing our collective courage. I recall hearing about the men and women, first responders in New York City when the towers were attacked.
Here they were faced with maybe the most important decision in their lives with an insurmountable problem. Facing terrifying uncertainty, they raced into the buildings in order to save lives, many of them knowing that they might not come out. They went in anyways because they were able to find courage within themselves; courage that said “yes I’m terrified but there’s something more important at stake here and it’s not me”.
So as we approach this new year, let us not dwell on the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it, and the immense levels of fear it has come with. Let’s ask ourselves, what do we want to focus on? Ourselves or something more important? I think if we’re having a hard time finding courage in a time of loss and uncertainty, then we’re probably focusing too much on ourselves. As soon as we turn our attention to what others are feeling and needing, we can find the courage to overcome any obstacles.
It’s not about overcoming fear because that’s a trap. It’s really about expanding our circle to include more than ourselves. The bigger the circle, the more courage and other resources we’ll find. And that’s what being human is all about. Ubuntu: I am because we are.