Fear

Living life with fear is not living at all. Something which I have pondered about recently is that I find that a good number of the things I'm afraid of (yes I admit I do fear many things) are those things which I was told not to do as a child. Don't walk alone in the dark. Don't talk to strangers. Be careful when playing on the street. Don't play with fire. I find that some of these simple warnings my parents gave me have turn into some of my fears as an adult. I wonder if I would still have the same fears if I was never told about them and especially was never told about the consequences. I've heard my parents and the media continuously telling me how life is full of hate and danger. Shooting here, Rape there, Kidnapping, Violence, Fire, Accidences....there always seems to be a flow of hate and problems in this world, which have in some sense created fear in me.

I wonder if I had never been told or never heard about all these events and their consequences if I would actually fear them. I wonder if my mind would process some of the things I fear in a completely different way and that I would maybe then react differently. I feel that through my life I've been conditioned to fear and stay away from certain things and that through this my mind has lost the ablity to search and experience certain stimulus. Is it possible that instead of dealing or discovering new things that my mind finds it easier to just block it with fear?

Can ignorance be strength? Without fear or knowledge of consequences would we be able to find more answers to our questions? Would we be happy? Would society benefit or be in chaos?

All I know is that if I did all the things I really wanted; if I had no fear. I'd be in a completely different place right now.