As I write this, we are in the middle of a fear outbreak. Right now, it is classified as a stage 4 fear outbreak, but the risk of it turning into a fear pandemic is high. By the time you read this, of course, the latest trigger (the swine flu) may very well have turned out to be much ado about nothing. But, don’t worry, there is bound to be another thing to fear right around the corner.
I think, perhaps, we should appoint a commission to monitor it and perhaps throw a whole lot of money into studying it. After all, fear is the real reason our world is struggling so much right now.
Watching this latest fear epidemic has been fascinating though. It is such an amazing example of how we manifest. As a society, we have taken a few hundred cases of a form of an illness that routinely kills 38,000 people a year in the U.S., and decided to panic. We are closing schools, even some where no one is sick, are literally destroying the economy of an entire country (Mexico) by virtually closing its borders and spending a small fortune on stockpiling a drug that may or may not even be needed.
Now, by the time this is published, I will be interested to see how this new saga has played out. Will we truly be in the midst of a pandemic or will it be forgotten and we all will have moved on to the latest scare of the week?
I believe it is the responsibility of those of us who understand how crippling fear is to stand up against it. Being fearful is addicting. People seem to get a rush out of it. We watch in fascination as the saga unfolds before us. We talk about it at work. We buy the magazines and watch the shows that help us obsess about it. We do everything except the one thing that will help – to not accept the fear as a part of our lives.
I am not saying we shouldn’t be careful. I am a rather big proponent for washing hands and staying away from sick people. I have locks on my doors and avoid dark alleys at night. I wear a seat belt and sunscreen, sometimes at the same time. But, there is huge difference between a logical, thought out and careful approach to a problem and a mass epidemic of fear.
We all chose to come to this planet when and how and where we did. I think we must all be adrenalin junkies to come in at this time. I am rather convinced that some of the souls who are here now came to observe and perhaps facilitate the happenings around 2012. I am also certain that some souls will throw up their hands and say, “Ok, that is enough, I am out of here!” And I certainly hope that a few of us, at least, came to earth to be a voice of reason and sanity in these times.
We live in interesting times. Living in these times is a great deal more fun, though, if we do it with joy instead of fear. We will see what this latest fear event will bring. In the meantime, my brother-in-law just bought 100 face masks. I think I will go borrow one.