From birth until death, fear is a constant in our life. As with any emotion we have, whether it’s fear, sadness, depression, or anger, the emotion is as big as we allow it to be. If we let it dominate our lives, it will, certainly causing damage. One of the greatest tools of the negative side is fear. It feeds off seeing us stuck and not meeting our potential, thereby stopping us from seeing opportunities that present themselves.
Regardless of the cause, fear is a hindrance. It cannot heal a person going through a serious illness. It cannot change the reality of disruptive life events. Fear only causes more damage. It makes bad situations last longer, seem scarier, and more painful. As Rav Berg states, "Fear is not an option!" and The Baal Shem Tov states all fears we have are to awaken a change.
Rav Ashlag, founder of The Kabbalah Centre, teaches that the one fear we should always have is a fear of disconnecting from the Light of the Creator. If we have this one very healthy and real fear, then all other fears will dissipate because there is no place for them. If we’re connecting to the positive, the negative cannot exist.
Kabbalah teaches that each of us will appear before a heavenly court when we leave this world. But the court will not be anything like a criminal or civil trial in the physical world. There will be no prosecuting angels reading off a list of our transgressions, nor will there be defense attorneys pleading for mercy on our behalf. The truth is much simpler: when we arrive in the upper world, we will simply be shown the real greatness of our souls.
This fear may motivate us and can actually be a blessing. Use it as fuel for acts of sharing in the everyday world, and to become a true being of sharing in your heart and your soul.
For more on this topic, we recommend reading
Fear Is Not An Option by Monica Berg.
