The Seduction of Certainty

Fundamentals of Growing Fearless – Part 8

We all agree that people fear the unknown.
We resist change. We find comfort in what’s familiar, in our routines, our beliefs, even our limitations. But what I want to share with you today might surprise you (also check at the bottom).

From my Book, Fear Enough. Do you want a free copy? Check at the bottom :)

Isn’t it strange that moths are so drawn to light that they sometimes burn themselves in it?

It’s easy to assume they’re overwhelmed by desire, blindly flying toward what they want, only to perish. But maybe there’s something deeper at play. Something we can learn.

There’s another story where the light becomes fatal: the myth of Icarus.

Icarus was given wings made of feathers and wax, crafted by his father, Daedalus, to escape their prison. Before taking flight, he was warned not to fly too high, where the sun could melt the wax. But the thrill of freedom, the pull of the sky, was too strong. He rose higher and higher until the sun burned his wings, and he fell into the sea.

Now, I’d like you to read a short poem, carefully. It’s more relevant than it might seem at first. I made a recording to enhance the experience (hopefully 😇)

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“You darkness, that I come from”

Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, read by Jose for you:

You darkness, that I come from,

I love you more than all the fires

that fence in the world,

for the fire makes

a circle of light for everyone,

and then no one outside learns of you.

But the darkness pulls in everything:

shapes and fires, animals and myself,

how easily it gathers them! —

powers and people —

and it is possible a great energy

is moving near me.

I have faith in nights.

— Rainer Maria Rilke

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Let’s sit with that for a moment.
What if darkness isn’t something to escape?

We all feel comfortable close to the campfire

We use light and dark as symbols of good and evil. The dark represents the negative, bad intentions, and repressed emotions. The light represents what is good, beautiful, and desired — even the divine.

But the dark also represents the unknown, while the light is the known. Our mind labels them as safe and unsafe. That’s the ground where fear grows.

It may sound counterintuitive, but we all fall for that trick. The mind tells us what to do based on what it already knows, and in doing so, it ignores everything it doesn’t.

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The moth trusts its instinct to get close to the light, not considering the dangerous nature of the candle flame.

How many of us burn out resisting change, defending the status quo?

How many of us side with what we believe is good, and in doing so, judge everything and everyone else as inferior or wrong?

How many of us want so badly to be good that we can’t accept our own limitations and shortcomings?

Have you noticed how good it feels to be in the company of like-minded people?
That’s the light. That’s the candle flame.

When someone validates my opinions, I feel good too. But I should not forget the moth.

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How much light do you need to illuminate a dark room?

I’m sure you’ll agree — a single candle is enough. Walk with it, and before long, you’ll have seen the entire room.

The light of our attention — the clarity brought by our consciousness — is meant to transform the unknown into the known.

Darkness doesn’t only hide danger. It can also hide experiences that are good for us, doors we can open, and corners we’ve never turned to.

Let’s listen to what our fears have to say, but let’s never forget that light and dark are part of the same whole.
Danger exists in the known and the unknown. So do love and opportunity.

Let’s not allow fear to interrupt our exploration of Life and Living.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
— Joseph Campbell

With love,

Jose.

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I have a present for you!

This publication has just crossed 340 subscribers, and I can’t express how much that means to me. To celebrate and to say thank you, I’m sharing a time-limited link where you can download my book Fear Enough: Deconstructing Fear and Understanding Failure with a 100% discount:

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