To me, there are different levels of "fear". There's the fear of the unknown, the fear of being hurt, the fear of death, the fear of failure. Most fear is caused by ignorance, lack of knowledge. Thomas Covenant was feared because no one understood leprosy. That fear turned into hate and bitterness. Simple knowledge would have cured that.
But then, there's the fear of being hurt, or dying. What is the opposite of that fear? I don't think there is one. In the case of the seriously ill, like Stephen, who know they are going to die, most don't fear death itself, they fear how they will die. Will it be in unbearable pain? They fear the pain of it, death is almost welcomed, prayed for.
I believe blind fear is the worst kind. Fearing the unknown, living daily with the fear that something bad could happen at any moment. That state of constant panic that people with phobias live with. That has got to be horrible. The opposite of that would be complete and total knowledge of one's fate. But, no one has that. So, one must delve into oneself and find the courage and strength to combat such fears. Soldiers on the war front, Firemen rushing into burning buildings, policemen opening that closed door where on the other side shots were fired only moments before, children living in a village somewhere in the middle east where there could be at any second a bomb blast...All fear of the unknown, is the opposite of that courage? Or is it a fear with no good answer? *********
"And the glory of the world becomes less than it was."<i></i>
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