What were you afraid of as a child? The dark? Snakes? Bee stings? Those were all common fears many of us had as kids growing up. As time goes on, those fears tend to fade away and get replaced by new fears, but some of those fears never go away.
What do you fear now? Maybe your fear is still snakes and bee stings. I still struggle with my fear of the dark to this day. But one thing I know the majority of us fear is death, even though most won’t admit it.
As young children, death is that last thing on our minds. This fear of death isn’t instilled in us until we reach a certain point in our life. I have no idea what age it comes into play, but it has to be somewhere in between the beginning of middle school and high school graduation. This fear of death could be attributed to various things: fear of the unknown, fear that an individual’s family situation might take a turn for the worse, or even religious beliefs and the after life.
From the time we are born until about 10 or 11 years old, our worries were things such as getting in trouble at school, having to answer to our parents and wondering what friends would be outside playing when we got home from school. The only things we looked forward to was living our lives and enjoying them along the way. As we grow, we are continuously told to put those childlike things to the wayside. Stop having fun; focus on looking for a job. We are taught to live life according to society’s definition of what life really is, or what it should be.
Over and over again, life has proven that the mind becomes distracted when you’re enjoying yourself But when you’re not, your mind tends to wander and conjure up thoughts and feelings. For example, when you are out playing sports with your friends or going to a music festival just enjoying yourself, not once does a negative thought pop into your head. At that point in time, your worries always seem to be nonexistent, almost as if there’s no room for negativity. Your mind seems to be occupied with enjoyment.
If we can achieve a sense of fearlessness for that short period of time just by being consumed with enjoying ourselves, then maybe we can do the same with life. Consume yourself with enjoying your life to a point where death is no longer a fear. Be, in a sense, carefree. Leave no room for negativity, and there will be no more room for a fear of death — just life.
