December 28, 2016 – Fear/Hate

                                                                                                            Fear/Hate

“Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who

fears noises becomes a man who hates noise.”

                                                                                                    Cyril Connolly (1903-1974) English literary critic and writer

     Shakespeare said the same thing: “We hate that which we often fear.” (Antony and Cleopatra) I think there is a lot of fear making the rounds in our nation these days; I’m certainly feeling it myself. Keeping in mind the wisdom above, it’s a time for soul-searching because the implications of this insight are profound.

     If it’s true that what―or whom―we are afraid of, for whatever reason, we end up hating … well, that seems significant enough to make us look at our fears honestly, identify them, name them; and of course, ultimately face them, embrace them, thus neutralizing and overcoming them.

   In the diagram above, notice the name of the substance over the candle: ignorance. So often, we simply don’t know enough about what we fear. Facing and embracing often simply mean learning more, getting more information, possibly increasing intimacy or initiating conversation.

     A thought for what promises to be a challenging new year.