NO FEAR

no fearI’m not sure if the term or company “No Fear” is patented or not, but you gotta hand it to the person who thought of using it to market clothing and accessories – sheer genius. It’s a big lie, of course, but hey! They’re just giving the masses what they want. I know a couple of things for sure, one, whoever marketed or patented that brand didn’t make up the term “no fear”. And two, there’s always a certain amount of fear… regardless of what your T-shirt says.

I remember trying to use those simple words as an affirmation decades before I ever heard of knew what an affirmation was. I recall chanting those two words to myself only loud enough for me to hear before doing something really stupid… Like jumping of ridiculously high cliffs into the shallow and swift Colorado River, doing flips off cliffs into the lake, jumping over bottomless pits deep inside pitch black abandoned mine shafts, to name a few.

The only reason I talked to myself quoting that now famous tag line was due to the fact that I was overwhelmed with fear. In fact, the word “fear” seems a bit weak to describe the feelings I had while trying to overcome them by lying to myself. Sheer terror seems a bit more apropos in hindsight.

Just like the people who are buying the T-shirts or products that tell the world they are fearless, I was telling the world and myself that I was tough, fear didn’t own me, and nothing on God’s green earth could rattle me. I relished when my older brother’s friends called me “Fearless Floyd.” I had them fooled…

In truth it is fear itself that can be a person’s biggest motivator. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it’s been a driving force in my life. The world is filled with people who fear so much what other people think of them, they’ll do some crazy things they really don’t feel comfortable with… and yet they do it with fear pushing them from behind and within.

It doesn’t take hanging around on this planet too many years to figure out the tainted quirks we possess and the other folks we share space and oxygen with. Generally speaking, and writing, I’ve learned that when someone is desperately trying to convince us of something, they’re also trying to convince themselves when it comes to fear, but neither party is taking the bait. It’s an act. When I see a young person sporting an article of clothing or product that says “No Fear,” I chuckle. That shirt screams the opposite. I know. Unless it’s a hand-me-down, that kid has more fear than the average bear.

When we begin to live our lives without the urge to make others think we’re a specific way or have a special trait and or talent, we begin to define ourselves through wisest form of communication, our actions. If we feel the need to convince someone of who we are, we should ask ourselves what our motivation is to be thought of in the way we desire.

Fear has served me well… too well. In the end it didn’t change what we all harbor; fear. I have to remind myself that “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Wish I’d have “begun” sooner… Facing fears for the purpose of God’s will brings a courage that defies and defeats the enemy of our souls.

“Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s what we do in spite of it.”

Maybe someone should come up with a new slogan? Like, “Much Fear, But More Courage.”