Awe & Fear
When we were kids, everything was new, big, and amazing. We didn’t even know what we could know. Everything was beyond us, yet everything was seemingly right in front of us.
In one moment, we would be frightened to the point of screams and tears, and within seconds we could be giggling with delight.
When did that stop?
How long did it take for the scales to tip in the direction of everything becoming mundane and normal? When did being awed by what we don’t know become being afraid of what might happen?
For me, it happened in the sixth grade when I realized that I was a bit heavier than the other boys my age. I stopped wanting to explore because the more I was seen, the more I would realize how inadequate I was.
The reason I stopped being fascinated and awed by what I didn’t know was because I felt that I needed to measure up to those things, or become more like them. That’s when I became afraid.
But, when I stop comparing – when I pursue a relationship out of love, or experience something for the sake of learning, or explore a new place to simply soak in the surroundings – when I remove myself from the picture, I become less afraid.
In fact, like the little boy I once was, I am filled with awe.
Removing fear, then, entails nothing more than removing yourself.