13. Treat or Trick

Last Halloween, I, as usual, stayed at home with my head under the blanket. I don’t dare to do something frightening and have no strength to face the masks of pain and grief. Terrified and thrown into intense fear and despair, I didn’t feel like doing anything. All I could do while trembling under the blanket was calculate all the pros and cons of my withdrawing from the Halloween celebration.

After thinking about it carefully, I still found my courage not worthy of praise and I also couldn’t approve of the existence of fear, pain, and grief. Why should I be scared or else? 

Fear and, consequently, courage are uncurled when learning about the tragic fates of men and women in the past or present times. We shouldn’t be frightened by an immediate and unexpected attack: there’s not enough time to reflect and our reaction can’t be well-predicted. What bothered me was overcoming the real-life jelly horrors when we know the patterns and characteristics of what or who we fear. If no one tells us about the presence of piranhas in the river, we won’t hesitate to touch its waters; it’s when we know there are piranhas in the stream, we start needing courage if we must cross a dangerous river. 

Even though it doesn’t help me feel superior to my fellow citizens, I am not interested in emitting fearful energy. I don’t dream of becoming a scarecrow to manipulate my surrounding environment for a treat. 

Fear, pain, and grief cannot be ignored in the name of cultivating courage. As we learn about these negative aspects of life, we should not stop what we’re doing to foster our courage in order to continue our progress only when we are brave enough but keep learning instead—the exam will be easy only if we sweat-study the subject from top to bottom. Self-awareness is better than a sudden fright. 

People who live in a safe and familiar world do not feel fear and therefore should not make the unnatural decision to act boldly. Courage is always something out of the ordinary, which lets me assume it’s not inherent in human nature: openness is! People normally suffer when they can’t express themselves. If we call openness courage, why don't we live underground like meerkats? 

To everyone's relief, the era of the Big Bad Wolf Tales is over: many interpreted these tales to mean that being a Big Bad Wolf is more prestigious. Rather than condemning the inhuman behavior of the fairytale wolves, people either feared them or were willing to become one.

Although civilization is accepting more and more people into its embrace, the jungle, impenetrable forests, and swamps are deeply ingrained in the genes of modern men. Living in a truly civilized society implies acting like civilized people. Who knows if we must be regularly tested for civilization through comprehensive questionnaires to keep this civilization running? 

Another aspect of danger, and therefore fear, is the public and emotional safety. Whatever hobby or job we do, our public safety should be a priority. We should also learn tolerance for the unpleasant opinions of others that show us our imperfections. Explaining ourselves to others long before we shake hands and say “deal” must be highly considered to avoid misunderstandings and arguments: this is what we should pursue as a civilization, striving for universal prosperity and progress that cannot be achieved through primitive cervine thinking and pusillanimity.

“Where our fear is, there is our task,” is how I would like to paraphrase our dear Carl Jung. Let's stop being Mowglies in the jungle, each on their own, for goodness sake! If we really need to get out of the wilderness all the time, then let's get out of the wilderness with our minds first. The math here is uncomplicated: by sharing our happiness, we increase it, and by sharing pain and grief, we decrease it. 

Like everyone else, I always admire individual courage, but I am also against courage when it borders on recklessness. As absurd and pessimistic as it may sound, courage is not an indicator of social stability, it is a pattern of behavior forced upon one by unfavorable circumstances. 

Why should we allow our fellow citizens to suffer unfavorable circumstances? Our civil society is the only wellspring of support we look forward to relying on. Hoping for a superhero to save us is childish. In any story, a superhero always appears at one’s last gasp, settling scores with evil and restoring order. 

People should live comfortably—this is what a civilization is intended for. Those who teach people they must be courageous, usually don’t rush to be a shining example of fearlessness. We all should feel safe and supported in difficult times, and stay on guard for everyone’s well-being.