Fear is nothing to be afraid of. It is not a big deal. The fear reaction is deeply rooted in us. All mammals know what fear is, and for millions of years we have had millions of reasons to be afraid. The hare on the photo is hiding from me because he is afraid. He is probably thinking, “I better be careful. He might don’t see me if I fold down my ears and keep absolutely still.” Fear is a completely normal and natural response to imagined or real threats. It is as normal as as is to be happy.

Nor is delusions and social conditionings something we can get rid of. If I am raised in a western middle class family, I will have a lot of ideas, values and ways of looking at things that I have just because of my upbringing. I may violently rebel in my youth but a lot of conditioning will persist, no matter what, and I will probably not even be aware of it. We are all living in different dream worlds. Alcoholics, workaholics, security junkies, religious junkies, political junkies, racists, escapists, there are so many different varieties. All people have a part in this amazing play.

To wake up, I think, is not about dropping the fear or the conditionings. It is about waking up, to be afraid when one is afraid, to be happy when one is happy, to be sad when one is sad, to be clear when one is clear, to be deluded when one is deluded, and to wake up from the delusion when one is waking up from the delusion, and to fall asleep again and to wake up again. Everyday is a new reincarnation.