In a recent meeting, I heard yet another person describe how much they live with fear and anxiety as constant and unwelcome companions. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention when I was younger (or maybe I was more carefree) but I don’t remember being surrounded by so much fear. If the limited sample size of my life and reading I have done about the current state of things is any indication, fear and anxiety have reached epidemic proportions. Many, many people are seeking ways to relieve their constant stress—medication, meditation, and exercise. Yoga and therapy and dietary changes are also sought as balms for the barrage of stressful input.
I would wager that recent world events have only exacerbated the fear. After the Paris attacks, and the ongoing headlines that tell us violence is everywhere and could strike at any moment the wariness has only grown. We can find ourselves hypervigilant about danger, worried about the future for ourselves and our families, or so disillusioned as to be almost numb. There must be a better way. There must be a way of living in this world that neither denies what is nor takes the full weight of it all into our beings.
This week I have found myself thinking of the familiar words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt about fear in his first inaugural address of 1933. He said, “…first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts...” I think I have a new understanding and appreciation of those words. We can get caught by fear which then grows more fear until we no longer remember what it was that began our spiral of worry. Fear itself is powerful stuff. It is problematic as well when we start to see fear (reasons to lean toward rather than away from it) in everything and everyone. I suppose what I am saying is that Roosevelt might say something a bit different were he to make that speech now. If I were to write it now, here’s what I’d say:
“We fear so much. War, cancer, uncertainty, loss, debt…I suppose it all boils down to fear of what we can’t control. We go about our days, doing our best to make plans and live lives that are meaningful or happy or good or loving or at least bearable on our worst days. Fear gets in the way. It makes us look over our shoulder and question others’ motives. It feeds into our distrust and encourages us to see only what is wrong. We don’t need to fear, fear. Think about what fear does; how it works. If it doesn’t corrode our insides (sleepless nights and jittery days); it will poison our relationships. I fear what fear is doing to us.”
Why is this connected to spiritual life? A sense of community has always been important, but I think in this time of rampant fear it is even more so. Being in community reminds me to check my assumptions about others and reminds me to try to sustain a sense of goodwill. Spiritual practices such as meditation and prayer also help me breathe through the anxiety and extend my care and empathy and compassion to all who suffer. Our congregation sings a chant that encourages us on this path, “When I breathe in, I breathe in peace. When I breathe out, I breathe out love.” May we find ways to reject the toxic fear. May we breathe out love.
Rev. Shana Lynngood is co-minister of First Unitarian Church of Victoria. She has lived and served in Victoria since 2010.
You can read more articles from our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking HERE
* This articles was published in the print edition of the Times Colonist on Saturday, January 23 2016
