Freedom From Fear

Is it possible to end all fear? One may be afraid of the dark, or of coming suddenly upon a snake, or of meeting some wild animal, or of falling over a precipice. It is natural and healthy to want to stay out of the way of an oncoming bus, for example, but there are many forms of fear. That is why one has to go into this question of whether the idea is more important than the fact, the what is. If one looks at what is, at the fact, and not at the idea, one will see that it is only the idea, the concept of the future, of tomorrow, that is creating fear. It is not the fact that creates fear. - Krishnamurti

With so much time and effort being spent on efficiency and improving our lives, it is a surprise that people aren't solving the more fundamental problem of fear. One of the problems could be an inaccurate assessment of its cause. As the quote says, our fears are rooted in worry for the future and there is nothing inherently fearful about any situation. It is our preconceived ideas of the situation that lead us to fear.

Unfortunately, instead of understanding the cause of these fears, we are often too busy trying to cover them up. If we are scared of being alone, we will constantly occupy ourselves with company, instead of observing why we have this fear in the first place. However, when we do face our deep rooted insecurities, we see that worries about the future plague the mind and then translate into misconstrued actions in the present.

To be free, to act completely in each moment, we must understand the nature of fear and insecurities instead of blindly trying to satisfy them. Meditation is this bold step to abolish our fears and to enhance our experience of the present moment.