I can feel it.  I can hear it.  Sometimes, I can see it in their eyes or in the way they hold their face, their hands, the posture of their body. Its a generalized sense of anxiety. I feel it in myself.

If we have a conversation of any sort that allows the anxiety to have a voice, the lists of things are predictable: wars, politics, bad laws, mistrust, military aggression, genocide, instability, food scarcity, climate change, the lack of safety that women, People of Color, LGBTQIA human beings sense on a daily basis, debt, non-livable wages and so on. 

I think we have been seeding the atmosphere for this anxiety for a long time, and fear is at the base of it all. We human beings learned a long time ago to use fear with each other as a primary motivator. We all know how to do it, likely all have and continue to do it, and we don’t even have to think about it. It was done to us and to those who did it to us. Parents, teachers, employers, religious, political, military and community leaders.  We all know how to use fear to get people’s attention so that they will do what we want them to do. 

Fear can be real, but so many of our fears are manufactured. Under the cover of a fear motivated message is a person or a group of people or an entire movement of people who want to be in control. Every time they use fear to get others to do what they want, two things happen. Those using fear see that it works and reinforces their desire to do it again, and those who are frightened into acting a certain way will require a little greater fear the next time in order to be controlled.

That dynamic creates an atmosphere charged with FEAR. And that makes us anxious, in a generalized way, all the time. We walk around wondering what bad thing is likely to happen without any real reason to suspect it–except that we are silently compelled by fear.

What if we started to name the fear? And I don’t mean in any immediately public sort of way. What if we as individuals begin to notice when someone uses fear on us? We could start with commercial advertising and notice when an advert implies a fear motive. And we just name it: oh, that advert wants me to feel afraid of XYZ so that I’ll go buy that product. What if we just started to name it when it happens? 

If we gave that gift to ourselves, it would create space inside of us. In that space we can breathe and decide what our next steps will be based on what truly motivates us–including not doing anything at all. In that space, we might look for something else to put there, some small joy, some sense of gratitude, a sigh of relief, rest and calm.

Clearing the air of fear can begin today. Name it when you see it, feel it, hear it, and send it back to where it came from. Then, choose what you wish to plant in its place.

If these kinds of questions and experiences sound familiar, you might find spiritual direction a good way to explore them.  Here’s how to get started.

~Robert Patrick

NB. Anxiety and depression can be serious and life-threatening. If you feel overwhelmed you can access help.

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