Primal Fear

What is fear? 

Is fear the same as being afraid. ? 

Is it semantics? 

Of all the emotions, fear, along lust, is probably the most primal. Fear, of the lurking predator, is what brings out all the survival mechanisms in an animal. Without fear, animals would not survive their next encounter with a predator. The prey knows the predator, and knows what the predator is capable of, so has to be constantly on the lookout for not giving the predator any opportunity to pounce. 

So how do you describe fear? 

More importantly, if someone "tells" you to be fearless, can you automatically cure yourself of the fear? 

It may be all in the mind, but it is in the mind where you win or lose. Where you fall prey or survive. Fear is the one "emotion" common to all animals, including us humans. 

That said, if there's one thing that's definitely unique to us humans, it's the concept of identity. Identity is what defines us, gives us meaning, provides us a safety net, when there is nothing else to fall back on. 

Identity is what keeps us sane. 

You can identify yourself in whichever way you feel like, but it's your identity. If someone comes along and puts your identity under threat, is when you feel most vulnerable to your neighborhood predator. 

And no matter how much someone comes along with words, there's nothing you or I can do, to assuage someone who believes their entire identity is being threatened. 

This is their battle. 

This is my support to them.