Fear of the Unknown

I think the title of this entry is explainable and the catch is obviously an implicit paradox – the fear of the unknown without actually fearing it! - The inverse also follows  as Pacman would say in his Nike's “No fear” ad  boxing exploits winning as many as eight different weight division.  But fear where is your victory knowing that there is really nothing to fear about especially you have already conquered or explored the unknown.  Right! That therefore leaves us that word “fear” itself if it could stand according to its merit or not crumbling to the ground. What is there left anyway that you have to really fear it.

            I think then US President Theodore Roosevelt already resolved that fear factor when he said that it’s incumbent upon you how to treat  that problem of  fear. What is all there anyway in fear that you have to fear it. Therefore, your take on fear is a determinant gauge affecting your understanding of that word “fear.” Quiet funny here as if we’re into philosophical treatise punning. His second  dictum that made him famous “The buck stops here!” it seems would provide the necessary lift understanding the topic.  Yes when no one  calls the shot and treating your client to vicious cycle of bureaucratic red tape normally does not do good at all.  Chances are he might charge you even with inefficiency characterizing delivery of services from the National Agencies.  With the explosion of information technology however, it would be noted that there was marked progress in the delivery of services among clients in the Bureaucracy, a study reveals.

            Fear then is such a serious malady one would suffer, far worse than other problems besetting Juan de la Cruz. Yes indeed, Dr. Enerio my French History Professor at Xavier University shared. I think that declaration makes sense because of other unhealthy effects it  has on your body. Example would be how this affects your mental health. For example hallucination leading to schizophrenia or maybe losing touch of reality might be an indication of drug overdose or the feeling that people are running after you. Or worse, that experience you already suffered  afraid of your own shadow. Identity crisis too might ensue from this as you no longer have the power of controlling yourself. Complete submission to authorities corrupted by power that what they utter are considered already laws of the land. Famous Filipino CBCP President Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin I remember,  helped toppled down then dictator Ferdinand Marcos because of the latter’s propensity of making abusive laws of the land. “Even the saliva he spits becomes the law of the land the following day!”, he wailed.

            If you can control fear factor as one TV show puts it, then nothing to worry about, the better your grip of reality would be  and your personality greatly enhanced, I would recall viewing their series of shows one among the episode participants showing it all baring their body in a nude fashion show! Wow! So what if their built well sculpted morphed into great work of arts passed  the competitive test with flying colors. That’s why I don’t understand why students at UP performing their annual Oblation run wear masks covering their while exposing their private parts. What for? Why can’t they just obliged the fun without any masks wore on their faces as camouflaged of their true identity.  In order words why are they not brave enough to run and stand on whatever message on issues they are driving across bare and bold?

           

 The fear of death has been a classic example.  But what is there to fear anyway about death when we have to pass that stage anyway in the end. Requiring an answer from a practicing Christian is I think an insult or begging the question.  How could I fear for instance death when I have already passed that stage early on after our baptism restoring my life giving us back the power over death. Death where is your sting, death where is your victory, the answer now becoming moot and academic. But of course we have to die because death is special stage growth taking place in us.  Unless the grain of wheat shall fall on the ground and dies, it shall remain a single wheat and not give life, says the message of a Jesuit song “Behold the Wood of Cross.”

            For the uninitiated of course, death is still an enigma especially if the party involved is a close member of the family. But death is beautiful. That if it happens naturally and similarly something else if it occurs out of the blue in which case explanation of interrelated process from professionals are in order here. First, there is rebellion; second, questioning ; third, concession; and fourth and last, acceptance.

Eschatologists like American theologian has equally beautiful and compelling thoughts about death. Death is simply beautiful. Recall how nature participated when Christ resurrected from the dead – birds chirping,  earthquake, rain pouring and all that from gospel account, Paul Tillich just give pre-eminence on the beauty that is death. But what are we  up to about death? Where else if not life. Yes life could only be best appreciated from the context of death. Precisely death is a celebration of life.  Simply put we have to die to live again. And bottom line of it all – the immediacy of time. How did  we use it while we were still at our prime matters. Yes we can extend our life to defer death through money. But we need not too because we are actually experiencing death without we ever knowing it. Why so? A little of our life is taken from us every second, minute, hours, days, weeks and months. We grow old, get sick and so forth until our time comes. We can play with life indeed with money and all that except time, the rarest commodity in town.  Time is our hope, our destiny and the mirror in which we see eternity, Paul Tillich writes. And true enough, time is just snowflakes. It melts away while we are even discussing about it, a Chinese proverb would say.

            Ergo, fear of the unknown. Yes, for those who don’t know it. But no and never unless you don’t have any awakening or enlightenment about your real place in the universe!

(23^rd My 500 Words Daily Entry. January 23,2014)