O.O

Fear and Worry

Fear and worry are born of th imaginings of a mind that is influenced by worldly conditions. They are rooted in cravings and attachment. In fact, life is a motion picture in which everything is constantly moving and changing. Nothing in this world is permantly or still. Those who are youthful and strong have fear of dying young. Those who are old and suffering worry about living too long. Locked in between are those who craze for merriment all the year round.

Joyful expectations of the pleasant seem to pass off to quickly. Fearful expectations of the unpleasant create andxieties that do not seem to go away. Such feelings are natural. Such ups and downs of life play with an illusory self or ego like puppets on a string. But the mind is supreme unto itself.

The training of the mind, otherwise known as mental culture, is the first step towards taming mental unrest. The buddha has explained:
"From craving springs grief,
from craving springs fear.
For him who is wholly free from craving,
there is no grief, much less fear. "

All attachments will end in sorrow. Neither tears nor long goodbyescan end the transitoriness of life. All compounded things are impermanent.

Old and young suffer in this existence. No one is exempted. Many teenagers have growing pains. Being neither frogs nor tadpoles, teenagers are understandably inexperienced at building stable relationships with members of the opposite sex. They try to show off their beauty in trying to impress their opposite ssec who are flattered to see themselves as sex objects. Both try to behave not as they really are but as what they think is adult.They are afraid if they behave naturally they will be laughed at. Behavious like this has potential for exploitation. There is fear for rejection as well as worry for deflated egos. Unrequited love will often "break" many teenage hearts because they feel that they have made a "fool of themselves". Some are driven to commit suicide. But such traumas could be avoided if life is seen as it really is.

Fear is nothing more than the state of mind. One's state of mind is subject to control and direction; the negative use of thoughts produces fear, the positive use realizes hopse and ideals. The choice entirely rests with ourselves. Every human being has the ability to control his own mind. Nature edowed man with absolute control over one thing, and that is the thought. Everything a man creates begins in the form of thought. Here is the key to help one understand the principle by which fear may be mastered.

A noted British anatomist was once asked by a student what was the beswt cure for fear, and he answered, " Try doing something for someone.".

The student was considerably astonished by the reply, and requested further enlightenment whereupon his instructor said, " You can't have two opposing sets of thoughts in your mind at one and the same time.". One set of thoughts will always drive the other out. If, for instance, your mind is completely occupied with an unselfish desire to help someone else, you can't be harbouring fear at the same time.

"Worry drives up the blood sooner than ago." Fear and worry in moderation are natural instincts of self-preservation. But constant irritational fear and prolonged worry are relentless enemies to the human body. They derrage the normal bodily functions.


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