Fearful Power
by
Mike
Landrum
Our fears shape the world
for us.
For centuries the
European world ended at a certain place on the coast of Morocco called Cape
Bojador (Bo-zha-door). The ancient mariners were forced to hug the coast
by their fear of the open ocean. This Cape, so inconsequential we need a
magnifying glass to find it on a modern map of Africa, was a place where the
currents and shoals were treacherous, shallow water and dangerous rocks ran far
out into the open Atlantic. Sailors were convinced a ship crossing there could
never return.
Along came a
Portugese Prince — Henry the Navigator in the early 1400's. This
man had the vision to see beyond that fearsome cape. He knew if he could
send ships around Africa, they could bring back the wealth of the orient.
He founded what was, in effect, the first modern research institute at
Sagres in southern Portugal. From there he sent fourteen expeditions to
try to force a passage around Cape Bojador, and they all came back with the
same story — failure. As the chronicle of the time put it: “They were
threatened not only by fear but by its shadow.”
When the fifteenth
Caravel approached Bojador her Captain grasped the sailors oldest, deepest fear
by the throat. Amid his crew’s shouts of protest and threats of
rebellion, he steered west, into the unknown perils of the open ocean.
The end of the world was mastered at last. The fear evaporated like
a bogey-man when the lights are turned on. Africa was explored, the
Indies were exploited and Portugal grew rich.
Fear is the great
stopper in all of our lives, is it not? While we may not have the shores
of continents to trace, we do suffer from the shadows of our own fears and
anxieties. I myself have been afraid of countless people, things and
events. Everything from solid geometry to pretty girls to the Viet Cong
have at one time or another caused me to pause and tremble, fear in my throat
and doubt in my belly.
Yes, fear can stop us
cold. Or it can prod us on.
Look at the monuments
the human race has built out of fear: the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China,
the Pentagon, these are obvious — but consider — is not civilization itself a
direct result of the overwhelming fears felt by a primitive race of primates
three million years ago? In their tender vulnerability, with completely
helpless infants, they had only just begun to stand erect and look out over the
wide savannas of East Africa. And what were they afraid of?
Everything. Most of the animal world was their superior in strength
and speed and tooth and claw. Fight or flight was the only law.
Fear was the spur that has brought us from eating raw snails in the rift
valley to eating escargot at the Four Seasons.
What to learn here?
Only this. Respect your fear. Do not wish it away. It is
primal and essential. It is the mother of necessity and so the
grandmother of invention. It is a source of power that we carry with us
always. Even into our dreams.
Some years ago, I was
deep in a conflict with my therapist. A transference battle. One
night I had a nightmare. I dreamed I was being chased by a killer with a
gun. Have you ever had such a nightmare? This was one of those
awful chases in which you feel as though you’re wading through molasses while
the killer comes toward you inexorably. Cornered at last, I was about to
play my last hope for escape — I knew I was dreaming and I could wake up and be
out of this awful terror. But something told me that if I did that, if I
woke up, the killer would return more powerful than before. I knew I must
turn and face him. Quaking all over, I watched the hideous ogre approach,
weapon raised. I held my breath. . . and he put the gun in my hand and
began to show me how to use it.
It turns out that my
greatest fear is a fear of my own power. I am afraid to succeed, to
surpass my father, to become who I really am. That has been the Cape
Bojador in my life.
What is keeping you from the
unexplored continents of your life? Face your fears. Sail on.
The riches of the east await you.
- 30 -
No comments:
Post a Comment