Life in every single individual has its ups and downs. There is no way a human being would come to this world and leave it without having any type of hardship no matter how big or small it is. If hardship is inevitable, then how come some people seem like they have never encountered it or gone through it?
The truth is that people have different levels of privacy and endurance. It all depends on the individual, how much they care about others’ opinions of them? How much do they have pride in themselves? How much do they trust others? Most importantly, how do they handle their balance throughout all of this?
It is normal in human and animal instincts to be afraid of the unknown. Fearing the unknown is a trait that we have in order to survive, to be ready of what is yet to come. Fear helps to prepare, it is there to help not overwhelm. Unfortunately, some people when they feel fear, they only focus on the fear itself, not what is causing them to feel that emotion and analytically attack such, “hold down” that there is no escape from. Once logic of self-awareness and emotions are interlocked, the balance of the general mindset should go back to normal.
When facing the thoughts of the emotions such as fear, one should always question how much of sense does it make sense, and is it worth being so much afraid of what we are afraid of? Think about the conclusion, the worst, and then ask yourself, “then what?”.
For example, when the Covid-19 started spreading in the U.S. I had a friend that contacted me and asked what they should do, and they started panicking that life will not be the same anymore, and will they be safe? and going through this whole fear of the unknown. It is scary yes, but we should not let that fear over take us, a little bit of fear is healthy where it will motivate us to do the healthy precautions in order not to catch or spread the virus. However, one should also think that death was already out there everywhere and one should realize that they could really die of anything, if not of the epidemic it would be out of a car accident or a fire in a building or a sudden heart attack. Yes, heart attack can happen to even healthy people. Therefore the matter of death is a daily issue that really it should not make people live in despair, instead they should live with the humbleness that even ‘I’ will someday die and that is just the circle of life. It is really important to not look at death as an enemy, but as a stage of life.
In fact, one should look at every hardship as an opportunity of self-growth. whether it be financial, familial, health… etc. It is there to help people appreciate good times, and to learn from the situation and grow. Each person’s hardship is personalized for him/herself and if they do not observe such hardships with a birds eye then it will do nothing other than break their confidence and esteem.
“If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.”
― The Dalai Lama
Salma Daboul | Philosophy سلمى دعبول 