Fear is a strange thing. Like our modern paper currency, it has no power of its own, except that to which we attribute it. Also like our modern currency, it self inflates as it loses value, thus preserving an allure of power. It is like a hot air balloon, very big, but since there is no gold behind it, it is only full of the ‘hot air’ of lies blown into it by its ‘fans’ who believe in it. Like our modern paper currency, fear is mostly blown by the hot air of lies and pretences, but when faced with the truth, like the Wizard of Oz coming from behind the mask of his lying schemes, he is revealed for the powerless little creature that he is. President FDR (who took the American Dollar off the gold standard) is known to have said at his First Inaugural Address: “The only thing to fear, is fear itself.”
When I was a teenager I emigrated to Israel. My parents were not favorable to the idea, but I was able to muster enough teenage cantankerousness to make them realize that their lives would be better off and things would be quieter if I were to go. They were fearful of me going to live in country that was so prone to war and terrorist attacks. For my part, I was like every teenager, ‘Invincible!’ I was watching this week about the people who live in the new settlements East of Jerusalem. They have whole families living there, very close to danger. A recent Israeli poll showed that the people living in these dangerous areas of Jerusalem are less fearful of terrorists than those who live in the more settled areas of Tel-aviv or Haifa. Why? Those who live in these settlement say that they do so out of a sense of cosmic destiny. They know that they are part of a vision that is greater than themselves, and this shines in front of them as a light that dissipates all fears,real or made up. This is something we could all learn from in these times of uncertainty. We could ask ourselves, “What are we a part of?” Why do we do what we do?” Are we living and dying for a virtuous ideal or are we just existing?” Only the realisation that we are actually part of a grand plan can give us the courage to face the daily battles that life puts in front of us. And whether we know it or not, we are each one of us part of grand plan. Not only we do not know what lies ahead for ourselves, but we do not know what lies ahead for our children, or for the people we help and save every day. The people of East Jerusalem know it, and if they can keep this plan alive for 4,000 years, we can also certainly do so.
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