Fear and Acceptance?

[_Darkie_]

Fear and acceptance can may very well determine how we live our life, to what level of achievement we reach.

Some may think, "of course I accept. Fear has almost no place in my life."

But let me bring up the topic of...Ghosts?

I've almost always lived in perpetual fear of Ghosts, mostly Hollywood's doing. I've never been a huge fan of Horror Movies, but I've seen enough to make me shiver when I think of Ghosts.

I fear them, even though I have drilled the fact in my mind that "Ghosts don't exist". I fear, even though I do not accept. I asked myself, what does this mean? Is my acceptance genuine?

My fear went away when I heard this story, from a friend. Whether it is fictional or not, you decide.
(Don't worry, I didn't think it was scary, and by my standards, it probably isn't.)

"A man, who does not grow with with Scary Hollywood movies, Novels, or anything that might suggest that Ghosts exist, or are scary, grows up happily.

Reaching Adulthood, he moves to a 'haunted' house, and each day, he goes down to the Kitchen to have a cup of Coffee. He finds to his suprise that someone has already boiled a fresh pot for him.

So he sits down, pours a mug for himself, and another for this kind stranger who he cannot see.

This happens every morning, until it almost becomes a morning ritual (as I'm sure many of you have ). He invites a friend over, and calmly pours 3 cups of Coffee...one for himself, one for his friend, and one for the kind stranger.

The friend thinks that this is strange, and almost runs away when he sees that the third mug is moving by himself. Our main protagonist notices this, and says

"Oh, he's just living with me. He's quite helpful, and I appreciate his presence here. Why are you afraid?""

(The end).

Perhaps this is a nice little story to reflect on life. At times, what may seem normal to us, may be terrifying for others. Maybe this is the other way around.

But really, something should be seen as it really is. Accepted as it's true being - no more, no less. The 2nd man was afraid of Ghosts, but the first man accepted them. The 'ghost' never did any harm, yet still, the 2nd man thought this was a bit too strange for him.

One question I have started asking myself after listening to my friend tell this story is

"Have I accepted so and so, or feared it? How can I use this acceptance to live a fulfilling life, or how can I turn around my fear, and start accepting?

[ladybird]

Dear Darkie,

Thanx for sharing...very interesting Ghost story!!!

I've never been a huge fan of Horror Movies, but I've seen enough to make me shiver when I think of Ghosts

I agree with you there...as I've grown older they appeal less and less although I do have a couple of fave horror movies such as' The Sixth Sense'...(I'm a grrreat fan of Bruce Willis )

"Have I accepted so and so, or feared it? How can I use this acceptance to live a fulfilling life, or how can I turn around my fear, and start accepting?"

I must admit that I do have fears...I think we all do deep down inside...the trick is not to let them rule your life...it is important not to let fears spiral out of control in my humble opinion so that we can live the fulfilling life we are all meant to...

love ladybird

...turn your stumbling blocks into stepping stones...
~ Anon

[_Darkie_]

Hello Ladybird!

That is quite a remarkable response! I enjoyed reading it thoroughly.

[We have fears]...I think we all do deep down inside...the trick is not to let them rule your life

Interesting way of putting it . I have read about various famous persons quoting that 'fear is what keeps men in line'. Maybe so, but like always, a little too much is counterproductive, and none at all is, likewise, counterproductive.

I refer to one of the main Doctrines of Buddhism - to seek the middle way. To not visit the two extremes; extreme fear, or no fear at all.

Walk in between them, and whilst doing so, learn to accept the fear. And live our lives.

Thanks for posting!

[ladybird]

...mega thanx and your very welcome! (((Darkie)))

I refer to one of the main Doctrines of Buddhism - to seek the middle way. To not visit the two extremes; extreme fear, or no fear at all.

Walk in between them, and whilst doing so, learn to accept fear.
And live our lives.

...WOW, such splendid wisdom captured in those words...I love it!!

...yes, I believe balance is the key and in my humble opinion the Chinese are very gifted in much of their philosophy about balance. Like Yin and Yang that combines opposites to create wholeness, each half contains a particle of the other. There is much the West can learn from the wisdom of the East!...and to me the Eastern culture is fascinating!

...eternally grateful for your sharing...

love ladybird

...light and darkness create an opposition. Yet depend on each other just as the step taken by the right leg depends on the step taken by the left...
~ Sekito

[Ames0325]

Hey Darkie--
I haven't been around for awhile but I dropped by tonight and felt impressed to add part of a letter I wrote to a friend sometime ago. It may seem a bit irrelevant but whenever I think of fear I think of faith. Its seems to me that fear and doubt are more related to faith than acceptance although acceptance is often a step in faith and belief.


I just was thinking the other day and I had some
thoughts I thought you might enjoy. You told me that you have been doubting a lot right now (you're not the only one) and I was just thinking about believing and doubting and stuff like that and this is what I thought. Just because you doubt doesn't mean
you don't believe. It just mean you need to shore up
those doubts with more faith. At a conference a
couple years we had a really good speaker and he was
talking about faith and he said that fear and faith
cannot exist at the same time but I am not completely
convinced on that point. Fear is simply your human
nature; mortals fear thing they cannot see. Faith is
knowing that even though your scared out of your wits
if you jump God will catch you.

I just don't understand many things yet and I am scared of many thing. But I believe that some day I will understand so much more
maybe not soon and maybe not in this lifetime but I believe that I will.
these are jsut my rambled thoughts and fears buti
thought that you would like them so.


Fear is often used by others as a way to try and manipulate those they see as weaker. This wrong and often misfires. Another thing I have learned in my few years is that fear is not always a bad thing it is a natural response to things we do not understand or percieve as dangerous. I have aspergers syndrome and as a result I have an extreme dislike of loud noises or bright lights; because of this I am extremely frightened of large machinery such as lawn mowers, chain saws, factory equipment etc. At times I have had to use or work with these and other things and know that it is unwise to be overly afraid of them because it can be dangerous. However it is also dually noted that these are very dangerous and a respected "fear" of them is useful in remaining safe.

just my 2 cents.

Amy