“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear
is fear of the unknown”
― H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature
“Fear of the unknown and the other is the root of almost all hate. It is born of ignorance and fed by those who would keep us divided.”
― Tinnekke Bebout
Starting this post was difficult. I keep asking myself: where and how do I start writing about this giant topic? There is so much to say about fearing the unknown that I didn't want to do a disservice by capturing but a minuscule of what is involved here. I realized a few days later that I can just start with where I started. Enjoy the story.
It was Halloween night, and the street was crawling with masked civilians. I was no different. I gathered some sweetness from the neighbors house before I carried on, pondering the night. I made my way to a dark wooden bridge where few souls dared go on that frightful night. I began contemplating the multitude of attitudes that humanity has toward the celebration of Halloween. As naturally as a breath of fresh air, I began speaking aloud Self-Forgiveness:
"I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear the darkness. I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear being mugged or raped. I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear strangers. I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear noises coming from places that are out of my view. I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear the unknown."There were several others pertaining to other possible fears such as witchcraft, paranormal events, etc., but when I came to forgiving myself for accepting and allowing the fear of the unknown to dictate who I am in a moment, I relaxed, I eased into my body, and I knew that I had to write about this.
End.
Just to debrief you from that story, I have to say that was only the beginning. The ways of which fearing the unknown has affected my entire life are vast. I freeze up when trying to write about it because I'm racing through my mind. Stop. Breathe. I fear not knowing what people will think of me. I fear not knowing if I am accepted. I fear not knowing how another will react to my expression. I fear not knowing if I have written something that others would want to read. I fear not knowing in general. I fear not knowing what I do know. I fear not knowing how to be in control of a situation. I fear not knowing myself.
This is just the beginning. The beginning of the end of fearing the unknown.
Much more to come.
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| Thanks for reading. |
cc: scary pumpkin
