“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”― Dune
I know that a lot of people are fearful of the future. Will things ever normalize? What if this Covid19 is here to stay? When will there be a vaccine? Where do we go from here? The issues we face may seem mountainous but working together we can bring about forward movement and hope of change.
My absolutely favorite quote is the above one by Frank Herbert in his book, Dune. I also like Martin Luther King, Jr.’s warning- “We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.”
With these thoughts in mind, I came across Tom Morkes’ blog post, parts of which I share now with you.
“The Tale of Despereaux” is a story about a mouse who never learned to be afraid.
That’s a problem, you see, because mice are supposed to be fearful. Call it a social-cultural self-defense mechanism, perhaps the idea being that scared mice can better avoid danger; the point is, Despereaux was anything but afraid.
Because of this, from the moment of his birth, Despereaux’s natural disposition in life is viewed as strange, insubordinate, and most of all, a threat.
The Story
“His eyes are open,” his mother says apprehensively, as she looks at her new baby boy for the first time.
“He isn’t cowering…” she trembles. “He’s looking right at us.”
The fear in her voice is palpable.
“Don’t worry,” the tribal shaman / doctor / elder says with hopeful confidence, “he’ll learn to cower. They all do in time.”
But he doesn’t. And not for lack of trying.
Fast forward to middle school…
The other school children had recently passed their cowering test with flying colors. Despereaux, on the other hand, failed the test.
… “Despereaux, why do you think you’re in school?” the headmaster asks the young mouse.
“To learn,” Despereaux replies.
“To learn what?”
“To learn how to be a mouse, sir.”
“That is correct. And you can’t be a mouse if you don’t learn to be afraid,” the headmaster instructs. “Oh Despereaux, there are so many wonderful things in life to be afraid of if you just learn how scary they are.”
Realizing that Despereaux still isn’t quite getting it, and that the school system by itself can’t seem to inculcate the type of fear they’re hoping for, the headmaster gets his family involved.
Despereaux has an older brother (“as timid as the day is long” according to his father), and so the headmaster recommends Despereaux’s older brother act as a guide and mentor in the way of fearfulness.
“Sometimes, they just need to see the older ones do it,” the headmaster explains. “No one starts out afraid.”
Unfortunately, the plan backfires.
Instead of embracing the fears of his brother (or family, teacher, headmaster, fellow students, and society at large), Despereaux just…keeps doing his thing.
And he ends up doing something that is absolutely forbidden in mouse utopia:
Despereaux interacts with a human being…
His father, scared about what the Mouse Council would do to him if they found out what happened, hands his son over to the council for trial.
…So Despereaux goes before the council, and they list out his infractions:
“Refused training as a mouse.
Refused to respect the will and guidance of elder mice.
Repeatedly engaged in bold and un-meek behavior.
Triggered, willfully, not less than 17 moustraps.
Had personal contact with…with…with a human being.”
The mob gasps.
“Despereaux Tilling,” the eldest elder says in his final declaration, “our laws are here to protect us and our way of life. And when one of our citizens strays from that way of life, he becomes a threat to us all.”
The elder proceeds to banish Despereaux to the dungeons of Dor “from which no mouse and no light has ever escaped.”
And so Despereaux is remanded to Hovis, the blind threadmaster, who is to lower him down into the pit.
They have one last conversation before the descent.
“So you’re the brave one?” Hovis asks.
“I guess,” Despereaux says sincerely.
“It’s good, it’ll carry well down there. Wear it proudly. It’s no shame.”
He fastens the rope around Despereaux’s waste.
“Courage, right?” Hovis asks.
“And truth. And Honor,” Despereaux replies.
“Good,” Hovis says right before sending him into the darkness…
“But especially courage.”
The Darkness and Despair Within
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela
Right now, many people around the world are experiencing darkness.
…Despair. Their posture gives it away.
And when you recognize it, you know what it means:
An ever present reminder of the end of things…
Death is scary. Experiencing a life or death event is physically and mentally draining. It takes everything out of you.
Likewise, being in a situation where death feels ever-present can be its own mental burden. Over time, it’s exhausting.
And that’s true whether you’re worried about your own life or someone else’s.
…At moments like this, it can feel like there are only two paths one can take:
Either headstrong ignorance, blindly ignoring threats while you pile drive your way through life…
…or in headless panic, desperately believing everything you’re told.
Both are pretty terrible options…
That’s because both are reactions to fear.
The Onerous, Deadly Threat
“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” Theodore Roosevelt
And fear is because they miss the real threat.
The real threat is that thing that is ever-present in the story of “The Tale of Despereaux,” and it’s the same thing you may spot in your own life if you look hard enough…
The real threat is:
To live a life that’s less than you’re worth.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Steve Jobs
Many throw in the towel before it’s too soon…to quit instead of building something worthwhile……to give up on the altruistic dream of a better life for your family, your community, and yourself, because someone taught you all the wonderful things to be scared about.
But there is a third option…the same option Despereaux chose before he even knew he had; the one that seemingly caused his banishment, but in reality, is what ensured he would get through to the end, in spite of the darkness:
Have courage.
Have the courage to…figure things out for yourself…
Have the courage to start small. Start one day at a time. Grow through trust.
“We all live in the same house, we all must be part of the effort to hold down our little house. When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just… do something about it. Say something. Have the courage. Have the backbone. Get in the way. Walk with the wind.” John Lewis
We need to have the courage to…
Stay. On. The. Path.
…Because where fear grows, darkness spreads.
And we need a few more lights in this world.
