The Fear That Ends and the Fear That Remains
El miedo que termina y el miedo que permanece
A reflection on how the illusion of self-knowledge dissolves completely, while the natural fears of being human persist as part of life's mystery.
The Fear That Ends and the Fear That Remains
A reflection on how the illusion of self-knowledge dissolves completely, while the natural fears of being human persist as part of life's mystery.
There is an aspect of this that is a process, and it never ends. It is the evolution of being human. But what does end is the illusion of knowing what you are, or that what you are can be known. And that ends fully, completely.
You might have moments where you can fantasize around knowing that. But consider how much energy it would take you to imagine the reality of Santa Claus as a being who flies with gifts across the world. Very quickly you can see: well, it's just a nice story. It's a beautiful story. It's a real story. It is real as a story, real as a character, real as imagination.
The mystery that remains
The experience of being human is real. What it is to be human is not so easy to articulate. It is very, very mysterious. But the mystery is always a mystery. Once the illusion ends, you see reality, which is mystery, which does not mean no pain, no fear.
A very particular fear that ends
There is a very particular fear that ends. It is the fear of what you are ending. But it ends because you no longer know what you are. There is fear that comes from believing an illusion about the self, a Santa Claus-like story. The fear is of that ending. And then, if you have been able to see what you are not and be open to reality, there is simply the fear that arises from being on that journey, from being in the mystery.
Natural fear is not illusion
If a bus came right at you and you didn't notice it and it was two feet away, it is going to scare you no matter whether you are still in an illusion or not. It is going to be a natural, normal, healthy response. Your wife is about to give birth. There is going to be an enormous amount of very natural experience, including fear. To expect that not to happen is to impose ideas on life.