Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm

by Thich Nhat Hanh

But you have no time for him or her. You’re too busy. You conceive of yourself as an adult, but in fact, you are also that little girl or boy who is deeply wounded and afraid.

Fear goes together with craving. We want to be safe and happy, so we begin to crave a particular person or object or idea (such as wealth or fame) that we think will guarantee our well-being. We can never fully satisfy our craving, so we keep running and we stay scared.

Few people know how to let go of fearfulness. We develop a wish for vengeance; we want to punish those who made us suffer, and we think doing so will make us suffer less. We want to do violence to them, to punish them.

“Hello, my fear. Hello, my anger. Hello, my sadness. I know you are there. I’m going to take good care of you.”

Only understanding, trust, and love can help us change and grow.