I believe that one of the greatest lines of all time is from Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his first innaugaral address: "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.", and I have often had to quote it to people in recent years to calm them down (pandemic, civil unrest, political unrest). To let your life be ruled by fear (or, for that matter, money or material things) is not living - it is putting yourself in a state of perpetual self-torture - your are allowing theoretical external circumstances to control you, instead of you controlling them. I have learned only recently that controlling how we react to circumstances when they arise is the best way of dealing with things - let me make clear that I often fail in this endeavor, but I am trying, and trying is the human way. We are human, we are fallable, we make mistakes, circumstances arise out of our control, but we try to deal with them and deal with them the best we can when they come up. Another thing: overreaction doesn't solve anything - it just pisses everybody off in your near vicinity!!!
I don't meditate, but a lot of people do, and from sharing their experiences, it seems to be quite helpful to them. I'm too lazy to participate, but we all do our own form of meditation in our own way - maybe mine is putting down the phone, shutting off the tv, and just reading - it definitely helps dealing with stress, especially with a cup of good tea!!!
Mark, honestly, at this point in our lives, we have nothing to fear. We've all been through the mill at this point, dealt with tons of shit,, and really, there is nothing they can throw at us that none of us can't handle. Just enjoy your life and all of your blessings!!! Woody Allen has been fearing his death for the 70 years, which means he has literally tortured himself up to his current age of 87!!! What a waste of energy!!!
A Buddhist friend told me about this play recently, so glad to read your experience of it. I just want to say that there are so very many different types of Buddhism that I hope people who see or hear about "The Fears" recognize that it's not representative of all of its schools or traditions.
I believe that one of the greatest lines of all time is from Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his first innaugaral address: "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.", and I have often had to quote it to people in recent years to calm them down (pandemic, civil unrest, political unrest). To let your life be ruled by fear (or, for that matter, money or material things) is not living - it is putting yourself in a state of perpetual self-torture - your are allowing theoretical external circumstances to control you, instead of you controlling them. I have learned only recently that controlling how we react to circumstances when they arise is the best way of dealing with things - let me make clear that I often fail in this endeavor, but I am trying, and trying is the human way. We are human, we are fallable, we make mistakes, circumstances arise out of our control, but we try to deal with them and deal with them the best we can when they come up. Another thing: overreaction doesn't solve anything - it just pisses everybody off in your near vicinity!!!
I don't meditate, but a lot of people do, and from sharing their experiences, it seems to be quite helpful to them. I'm too lazy to participate, but we all do our own form of meditation in our own way - maybe mine is putting down the phone, shutting off the tv, and just reading - it definitely helps dealing with stress, especially with a cup of good tea!!!
Mark, honestly, at this point in our lives, we have nothing to fear. We've all been through the mill at this point, dealt with tons of shit,, and really, there is nothing they can throw at us that none of us can't handle. Just enjoy your life and all of your blessings!!! Woody Allen has been fearing his death for the 70 years, which means he has literally tortured himself up to his current age of 87!!! What a waste of energy!!!
A Buddhist friend told me about this play recently, so glad to read your experience of it. I just want to say that there are so very many different types of Buddhism that I hope people who see or hear about "The Fears" recognize that it's not representative of all of its schools or traditions.