Fear!

• By, 
  PRACHI CHAUHAN

She was crying, crying out loud… I could only hear her cry but I couldn’t see her as darkness surrounded her. I wanted to go near her but I couldn’t, thinking that she might be a sinister! My fears forbade me to go, so I walked away ignoring her loud cries as I couldn’t “transcend my fears”…!!

After reading the above paragraph you all must be pondering that I am going to share a “horror tale” here, rather I want to introduce this impulsive emotion we all come across in our lives. We all have our hang-ups, whether they are ghosts, clowns, snakes, heights or even water for some. And let’s not forget the big ones: fear of failure, fear of guilt, fear of being punished, fear of life and death. Fear is natural neither we can escape from it nor we can kill it. But surely we can overcome our fears.

Fear is not an unfamiliar word for us but have we ever thought that why do we come across this feeling in our lives? Or why are we fearful?? If we dig deep enough into the sources of each of fears, then at the end we’ll come to know that “insecurity, uncertainty and lack of confidence” are among the strong pillars supporting this deeply embedded, enigmatic feeling of fear.

The next query that arises here is- how to expel our fears? The means we usually deal with fear is, avoiding things that scare us. This solution only appears to keep us from being afraid. Without taking on challenges that provoke us emotionally, we are unable to develop the skill of working with charged circumstances. Someone rightly quoted “it is only in scary moments that we are unable to awaken our inner- bravery”. Hence facing challenges valiantly i.e. recognizing and moving beyond fear is the best way to de-escalate the emotional response in provocative situations.

If considering the youth, most of the “ignited minds” have collapsed into the “sphere of influence” of one of our powerful emotions- fear, may it be fear of studies, fear to compete, fear of lagging behind and the list goes on. As the upcoming generation we shoulder the responsibility of a bright nation. Understanding why we contract in fear and how we can go beyond this instinctive reaction is essential to endeavour our set goals. Thus accomplishing Rabindranath Tagore’s dream “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high..”

To conclude with Brian Germain’s saying-

“Success requires fearlessness”.
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About the writer!

Prachi Chauhan is pursuing her Bachelor's in English from Delhi University. She is from Alwar City of Rajasthan, India. This is her first blogpost for Artist Address. 

Her favourite quotation is,
    “The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep.” - Robert Frost.
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