Fear

Fear

Came across a beautifully camouflaged frog among vegetation while on a hike.

As it saw us, it jumped a little and then stopped. It couldn’t do much more than that.

We kept watching it, and it stayed in one place only in fear, maybe thinking that its camouflage would save it.

It’s amazing that all the animals are afraid of humans, and yet, humans are just another animal.

This started an interesting conversation among us, hiker friends.

Fear arises from jijiwisha (an intense desire to live) and is built into the DNA of all animals.

Could it be due to human-inflicted violence?

Why are humans so violent?

The reason is that they are also filled with fear- fear of other wild animals when they came on this earth for the first time- and we are still carrying it even though we no longer live in the jungle.

Fear is necessary for survival, of course.

And it’s understandable.

But how did it start in humans in the jungle?

A human baby is the weakest baby born in the jungle.

Most animals’ babies are ready to take care of themselves in a relatively short period compared to humans, who take almost 25 years in human society to make a decent living.

Families were created not just out of our affection for each other; they were necessary to protect vulnerable children,
and even adults, from other animals.

So, inborn ancient fear is responsible for their violence, because attack is the best defense.

Animals could not do much out of fear, because their brains were not as developed as ours, but humans are a different story.

With their developed brains, they crafted knives to replace a lion’s claws; they invented binoculars to scan the horizon for any incoming threats, meanwhile mimicking vultures.

All out of fear.

They invented planes to gain more ground and to seek out predators (enemies).

Eventually, out of fear, religions were created so that people would feel they belonged to something; seeking safety again.

(Of course, religions instilled more fear in their minds (fear of God), so that their institutions keep surviving.

And of course, communities, even land, were divided, and countries were created, which led to thousands of wars over centuries.

Weapons became an accepted pathway to expose the underlying fear, the outlet being their violence.

So, the fear hidden in our DNA has destroyed the paradise the Earth once was.

(You must visit the Galapagos to observe such fearlessness among animals, which have never been exposed to humans, ever, over thousands of years).

But somehow, we don’t see anything wrong with living in such fear, as we never pause to think about it.

This has led not just to big wars but to interpersonal conflicts as well, which are nothing but mini wars; we have lost trust in each other.

And not just physical conflicts, but we are always in constant conflict with each other; we are living a miserable life.