Fight or Flight

When you are

too afraid,

you cannot

enjoy Life

fully.

Spirita gives us this little gem in “Sunshine Syllabus.”  I told my best friend this one and she could not grasp the idea (saying things like what does being afraid have anything to do with happiness?)  Awareness is the all encompassing factor.  Being afraid is not necessarily a bad thing, it saves people’s lives on a daily bases, but it is an emotion that will not allow happiness flourish.  “When you are too afraid….,” it is not the same as a healthy amount of fear.  Being too afraid indicated an over abundance of fear.  Just like there is a thing of too much chocolate cake in my belly, I can have too much fear.  When I eat too much cake I get a sore tummy and I am not a happy camper.  When I have too much fear I either fight or flight and either way I am not a happy person.  I do not want to fight or run, I want to be happy.  Fear is a perceived negative emotion that is not conducive to a positive emotion like happiness. 

These two emotions are really on different sides of the fence.  When one lives their life in a constant state of fear and being afraid people act in direct response to that emotion.  If the fear is real, by all means, be afraid, I am not talking about that kind of fear.  Sometimes the fear is imagined or a situation does not warrant the actions taken that fear and being afraid demands, then why continue to live that way.  I want to enjoy my life.  Fear can prevents us from everyday activities like participating in activities that are fun, or interacting with people we might not know.  But in order to know what we as individuals like, we have to try the things we don’t.  That can cause people anxiety and feelings of being afraid, but then how can one truly know if you let that feeling of “too afraid” prevent you.  Who knows, maybe the activity will be fun and you will find a new hobby or friend?

As you go about your day, reflect on these statements to help you interpret this Spirita passage;  You gotta know the low to experience the high.  To enjoy life fully need feelings of fear but too much of anything cannot be pleasant.