FEAR

Fear - Fear of bugs. Fear of nature. Fear of being alone. Fear of other people. Fear of dirt. Fear keeps people indoors, it impacts their connection with nature. Without a connection to nature its difficult to make - or care to make - the changes necessary to avoid Epic Environmental Destruction, largely wrought through climate change (and trash).

Fear has an evolutionary and biological purpose. But our culture - at least USA culture, and likely other “western” or “modern” cultures have taken Fear to the extreme. And I’m not even talking about a certain political party.

I’m talking about every day living. Fear is used to sell products. And all good cultures and societies (I really should look up the difference between the use of the word “culture” and “society”) - well I might be being facetious when I say “all good” - like their members to behave in certain ways. Dress a certain way, love a certain way, climb the corporate ladder a certain way. Be afraid of bugs, rodents, and “other” things (and people) a certain way. Be afraid of not fitting in, of not following the status quo. Fear of disapproval or disappointing others. A fear of not being in the group.

I kinda don’t get it. I mean I get it - but how exactly did a whole generation (okay I’m generalizing) become afraid of bugs? I understand if you have an epi-pen being afraid of bees. That’s a legitimate fear. But the general person? Sure it sucks to be stung, it hurts like hell, and if you are like me you get a big ol’ swollen spot. Heck, I get big ol’ swollen welts from certain types of mosquitos. And these damn oak mite bites are freaking killing me.

But - bees, they are kind of delightful. I mean they are super cute with their fuzzy butts (okay they don’t all have fuzzy butts) and the way they gather pollen to put in their pollen pockets. The thing is that to observe nature is to learn the behavior, signs and activities of nature - and the critters in nature. You can learn to distinguish between the bees that will more likely sting you because they are mean jerks - like yellow jackets/ground hornets, which is different from a carpenter bee - big, slow, and might drill a hole in your brand new screened in porch but doesn’t even have a stinger (I think?).

Fear of dirt or an obsession with cleanliness is definitely a part of our culture that keeps people indoors and away from the outdoors. To be outdoors is to be dirty. We over wash our clothes, we create superbugs with our use of antimicrobial everything. We load our water with cleaning supplies, shampoos, lotions, soaps, and kill everything in our lawns with pesticides (I think thats a form of “cleanliness”). We waste food being afraid it will make us sick, we misunderstand the terms “best buy” and “use by”. People clean their cars all the time - for show? To be shiny? What a waste of water and chemicals. Okay I get it every now and then, I’m going to get mine cleaned before a long car trip so my passenger/co-pilot isn’t grossed out by my crumbs. These are the things that confound me. Life is messy. Creativity is messy. Nature is messy. Not only is Perfection the Destruction of Good, you might say Perfection is the Destruction of Nature.

To get over a fear of nature, one has to get close to nature. To find peace with nature, one has to get close to nature. Immerse oneself. To be a little physically uncomfortable perhaps but with a return on experiencing true jaw-dropping beauty or the quiet beauty of a beautiful dawn under the rising sun. To connect with all creatures great and small. To admire the artistry of a flower. To build internal self-reliance.

Fear needs to put in its rightful place. Its a warning sign to true danger. Its a feeling on the back of the neck, in the pit of the stomach, a zing in the spine. To be constantly afraid is to dull that signal. Fear and worry are not the same thing. Worry is just exhausting - and trust me, I can be a master worrier. A master catastrophizer. I claim it helps me plan for various paths that could happen. But what it takes away from is being in the moment and experiencing the moment that is. The ability to experience the moment as is, is where the well of joy spring from. Where peace springs from. Where stress doesn’t have a home. Because what is, is and the next moment is a new “is”. Fear, when it keeps you from being eaten by a tiger is appropriate. Fear, that keeps you inside - when are not even tigers nearby is not appropriate.

Fear keeps people, especially women and other underserved or discriminated against populations from being outside. Alone. It is not an irrational fear, but one we must constantly rail against. There is the societal habit of blaming someone when something bad happens “well you were out running ALONE - GOD FORBID” - well see no God didn’t forbid it. Its just been a constant mantra in our culture. So not only must we break apart this blaming of victims but we also must break apart the societal norms that allow men (not all men okay okay?) to be violent, that allows for “boys will be boys” while meanwhile women and girls are forced to hide inside. Because we are delicate flowers and mustn’t get dirty, climb trees, or be alone in the world.

I strongly believe there is a connection between the destruction of the planet and the mis-treatment of women and other vulnerable populations. Not only is it similar in mechanism - disregard, disrespect, devaluing of people without power is similar to the disregard, disrespect, devaluing that exists in our culture for nature. When women and vulnerable populations are constantly scanning the environment for danger, they can not spend their full energy on solving the worlds problems, including the Epic Destruction of the Environment. If every women who has been assaulted could take the energy they spend on managing trauma induced reactions to the world around them, if they could take that energy and put it into growing things, conserving things, innovating things, just think what a massive flow of ideas and human productive effort towards a positive cause could happen.

I talk about this a bit in this video that my artist friend Krista made for her Strong Women art show - THE ART OF BEING a HER(o). Its part of my mission around teaching women’s self-defense. Sure I want women to be able to defend themselves in a worst case scenario - but even more I want women to be able to walk through the world with confidence and security, to not have to modulate their true selves for the approval of culture and society. I want them to be able defend their ideas and their contributions. And not to just defend them - but demand, expect and just naturally receive as part of new cultural norm true equality and equity. and I want this not just for women but for all peoples - no matter race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preferences, height, money, ability/disability.

And I want this for nature. We are part of nature, not above it or outside of it. We have a responsibility to it, for not destroying it. We have a responsibility to find a way towards balance. And this way lies in putting Fear in its proper place and engaging with nature with an open mind and an open heart.