Don't Let Fear Stand In Your Way
The Sky Is Falling Or Am I Imagining it?
"Your greatest fears are created by your imagination. Don't give in to them."
Winston Churchill
... The Sky is Falling Everyone. And the world is coming to an end! I've got to tell the King. And off to convince the world and anyone who will listen!
How crazy does that sound? Of course we all know the fairy tale about Chicken Little who assumes the sky is falling when he gets hit in the head by an acorn. Does he do some research into the situation, look for solutions and use a little common sense? Of course not! He's just like any other fear monger and tells as many people as possible about his interpretation of it. Absolutely! And of course, he is bound and determined to go straight to the top and tell the King! Nothing irrational about that now! No siree!
That's right! It's huge after all, the world IS coming to an end! Sound ludicrous? Or perhaps familiar? You wouldn't by any chance, be tuned into the headline news lately and the economic crisis everyone is in. Or perhaps the fear spreading plague about the nuclear meltdown in Japan slowly spreading globally? Maybe you just stay inside forever, because you don't want to get swallowed up by the ozone layer, or worse, fried! Oh I forgot... this is just a fairy tale! (Or is it?)
In the States, this fairy tale of 'Chicken Little' dates back to the early 19th century. I'm sure you've all heard of 'The Chicken Little Syndrome'. Used to elicit unreasonable fear in those around and paralyze everyone concerned. Walt Disney Studios made two animated versions of the story to depict this unreasonable fear people were building upon.
The first animated adaptation was requested by the U.S. Government during World War II. It depicts Foxy Loxy taking the advice out of a psychology book and striking the least intelligent first. It convinces Chicken Little that the 'Sky is Falling'. It was used by the government to discredit totalitarianism in general. (Nazism in particular). This type of dark comedy was used as an allegory for unreasonable fear and how it costs lives and weakens the war effort. Here it shows how the Fox manipulates the Chicken for his own benefit. And the Chicken creates mass hysteria by jumping to conclusions.
The second Disney adaptation in 2005, occurs as a computer animated sequel to Chicken Little.
Today as I was doing some research for my stock trading portfolio, I came across it again. As I turned on the TV to check out the ticker tape at the bottom on BNN, I froze as I heard 'The Chicken Little Syndrome' again. I don't know if it was being used to induce fear, make me take notice or prove a point that 'things do happen for a reason'. And there are no such things as coincidences, only Miracles, as I call them. Of course these Miracles were the stock opportunities because the 'Sky wasn't Falling'. (Contrary to popular belief).
As I smiled and turned off the TV, and went back to my PC, it dawned on me as something very real, something that couldn't be misconstrued as folklore. It was the fact, the historical fact, that millionaires were made in times like these. In uncertain times. In depressions. In recessions.
More people made their millions during the Great Depression than any other time in American history. Warren Buffett believes, where most are being paralyzed by imagined fear, opportunists are born. And his company, Berkshire Hathaway, is based on this solid premise. Not risk taking. Not fear mongering. But research, knowledge and faith. The 'unequivocal faith' in the opportunity to invest in the knowledge of financial expertise.
This requires learning to trust yourself. And your gut reaction. To understand the brains function, especially the reticular activation system. Know if this fear is imagined or just imminent because you've never tried to do anything beyond your comfort zone before. It's not risky or fearful, it's just new territory.
And that is what fairy tales are meant to do. To elicit excitement in children. Help them see unreal situations and imagine the misfortunes that can occur. The key word here is 'imagine'. And that it's directed to kids, not adults. Animation is used to help children relate and understand these conceptual terms on a child gradient level. They were never meant to be nurtured at an adult level.
So why is it we tend to popularize these beliefs? Jump on the bandwagon and believe these stories? Fear was never meant to be used as compensation for ignorance. We are not kids here. How dare they treat us like one!... More so, how dare we act like one! Days like these deserve opportunities that indeed do exist. We just have to be open to solutions and allow opportunities to manifest.
Marianne Williamson had it right when she said,
"Our biggest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our biggest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a Child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't be insecure around you. We were born to make magnificent the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others."
So stop playing small and don't listen to Chicken Little's fear mongering. Trust your heart. For you know better.
Even Aristotle knew that, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
So enjoy the fairy tales. Listen to the story. But read between the lines. And know how to delineate between fantasy and reality.
Now really... be pragmatic. And do yourself a favour... and just get out of the way of the falling nuts!
Always Expect Miracles.
Copyright © 2011 Kassie Wright
I write for several online papers, websites, forums, journals, etc. I am the author of "Always, yes Always EXPECT Miracles."(Which can be found on amazon.com and major online bookstores globally.) It's my intention to spread love and joy to billions. Won't you please help me by reading, sharing and attracting Miracles!
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