Even the swiftest deer can be stopped by the headlights of a car.
(Anna G.)
Everyone has an Achilles’ heel. Fear paralyses the best of us, even in the area that we are good at. We may run as swift as the deer but, when caught under the headlights of a car, we freeze. You’ve probably heard of the phrase, “deer caught in the headlights”.
Knowing this, we should remain humble. But more often than not, most of us are fearful. In fact, some people will go to great lengths to hide their weakness, because they think that when people find out about their weakness, they will be preyed upon. This kind of thinking is not surprising, especially if you work or live in a society that is highly competitive and rewards perfection and excellence.
Fear is destructive and totally irrational. If you allow yourself to be bound by fear, you can never be truly happy, because fear will be lurking right round the corner waiting to catch you unawares. That’s not living.
You think that you have no control over the fear, because it comes and goes wherever and whenever it pleases. That’s a lie when you believe that you have no control over the voices that seem to plagued you – Telling you that you’re hopeless, that you can’t do better. Reject these voices. They’re not you. It’s fear masquerading as you.
You may ask what does that mean? Well, it means that who you are and your identity are not tied to fear. You can cut it loose and not be bound by that fear. Let me share a personal experience.
When I was growing up, I had a lot of fears. One of which was that of heights. My parents used to take us to Malaysia. which is a neighboring country, at the end of each year to visit relatives. On one occasion, my dad brought us to a famous tourist attraction called Batu Caves. It is a Hindu Temple Complex consisting of three main caves and a few smaller ones. The biggest was referred to as Temple Cave. It has a high ceiling and features ornate Hindu shrines. And to reach it, visitors have to climb a steep flight of 272 steps. For a petite child, that was a huge undertaking. And worse, these caves were dark and had bats.
As there were four of us siblings with two adults, and because I wasn’t the youngest, I could not shrink back. I remembered once having a tantrum and refusing to climb up these stairs. However, I have very stern disciplinarian parents, so I had no choice but to climb and crawl up. Coming down the steep flight of stairs was even more of a nightmare. I cried and sobbed my heart out, as I crawled and ‘butt’ sat at every step of the way down.
The nightmare of that experience continue to haunt me long after the trip. I often revisited the huge flight of steps in my dreams. The fear just escalated with each heart-stopping encounter with heights, especially when there were steps to climb.
Even sitting on a mini-roller coaster which was delightful for my younger siblings, made me turn green and to throw-up. Worse, I even had recurring dreams of falling down steps. I am not sure if it started with that incident, but this fear stayed with me for a very long time, until I went through inner healing later as an adult.
This fear robbed me and stopped me from enjoying beautiful sceneries from lofty heights. When I had the opportunity to go on helicopter or balloon ride, I would outright refuse. I just missed out what I saw on beautiful postcards and videos. I would stubbornly justify this fear and not allowed myself to enjoy different experiences.
Even my mum was more of an adventurer than I was, because once I was with a friend at an amusement park, and she was the one who accompanied my friend on the ride. I was left ‘watching over’ our personal belongings. That was how much of a ‘scaredy’ cat I was.
Fear is totally irrational and it feeds on your weaknesses. It keeps escalating and building up to include more and more areas of your life. Don’t let it in. If it has come into your life, boot it out, by declaring aloud – “Fear – you have no hold on me.” Mean what you say. With time, you will overcome. You just have to relearn instinctive reactions and change behavioral triggers, so that you are no longer subject to them. Or you can call on God, who can help you overcome your every fear and addiction.
It’s your choice. That’s where it starts from. Don’t blame anyone, just choose to overcome your fears. They’re irrational. You can stop it in its tracks. No more fear-induced reaction. You have enough of them.
Don’t be like a deer caught in the headlights. Run free, break loose. Let your heart beat again. Live again. You’ve only got ONE life. Live it well.
