How to Move from Fear to Fearlessness
Dancing with fear
Dancing with fear.
“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” — Aristotle
When fear looks you in the eye, what do you do?
A fierce band of thieves was riding through the countryside, bringing harm wherever they went. As they were approaching one small town, all the villagers fled except for one man.
When the bandits entered the monastery, they were surprised to see this man sitting in a perfect and relaxed posture.
The fierce leader took out his sword and said, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m the sort of person who could run you through with my sword without batting an eye?”
The monk responded, “And I am the sort of man who could be run through by a sword without batting an eye.”
It’s not that the monk was crazy or trying to make a point. Instead of fighting reality, he understood he couldn’t do much about it. The monk decided to stare back at fear.
We all fear death —…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Demystify Culture to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.