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Today's
Meditation:
I
don't like fear-- it's never been very friendly to
me. There are some times when my fear has served me
well, such as when it's kept me from the edges of very
high cliffs, but usually my fear is just a pain in the
neck, a source of negative motivation that keeps me from
responding to certain situations in ways in which I'd like
to respond to them. My fears have kept me from
meeting really cool people, from developing relationships
and friendships, from taking on new and potentially
exciting challenges, and many other things.
Superstitions
come about because people are afraid, and they use the
superstitions to keep themselves from doing things that
they're afraid of. How many mountains have been
unexplored because they're "haunted," and how
many people have been hurt because their differences made
people afraid, so they were persecuted as
"witches" or "sorcerers"? When I
don't understand you and thus fear you, it's very easy for
me to be cruel to you and treat you badly.
But
even if I don't understand you, I can still accept you and
treat you well if I don't fear you. Without fear as
a motivator, my treatment of you can be just as humane and
compassionate as my treatment of anyone else in my
life. And you deserve my compassion because you're a
fellow human being here in this life with me.
If
I want to be wise, I need to exercise my acceptance and
compassion, and not allow my fear to affect the way I
treat others. After all, I don't see any reason why
others would fear me, so why should I fear you?
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