Fear has a practical purpose. It’s one of the many essential factors that have enabled our species to survive. It told us which things will lead to harm and/or our demise. As a species, we can’t procreate and grow our numbers if we die before we can. It became one of the most important tools that we have in our brains. However, when the era of hunting and gathering, of incurable plagues, preventable diseases, and cuts was over, fear continues to exist despite not having a larger control over our day-to-day lives. We don’t experience it as much anymore. Therefore, it needed a new purpose.

Modern science has explained away inconceivable concepts that religion once told us were just God. It gave a testable proof, building confidence within the human race that “it doesn’t seem to be that bad”. We can jump into the water without fearing much when we have a life vest on, or even prevent being thrown into the water in the first place. This lack of practical execution of fear, I think, morphs its energy into something we weren’t prepared for living in this relatively safe world.

Anxiety, doubt, overthinking, and fear of being perceived, among others, were the mutated versions of fear that our ancestors once experienced when predators lurked in the grasses. The predator doesn’t exist anymore, yet your body pumps cortisol in your blood the same way when you get an unexpected call from your boss, despite being in the relative safety of a fully air-conditioned office. Fear, as an energy, has a little less power in our modern world, but it’s not something we can just do away with when it has been (and still is) useful to us collectively. It wouldn’t go away, not until we’ve found immortality and eternal youth. Fear is linked to our mortality, our temporality, and fleeting existence in this world.

When fear goes into overdrive, it stunts us. This is most especially true for all creatives out there. Fear, realized or not, can hold us back. As a person who’s lived through poverty, I know that I can go hungry and will go hungry if I don’t earn money. Going the artist route can lead to hunger. As someone whose personal posts on social media were used to sabotage her promotion, the fear of being perceived is a real threat, along with the persecution that comes with it. And it’s not just us, we see it in other people too. There were those who were filmed and laughed at on social media just because they were being themselves in public and having fun. We’ve seen many artists live their entire lives in poverty only for their works to be recognized posthumously.

As an artist, I believe that just like any other emotion, fear is a form of internal energy. A kind of energy that compels us to move. Whichever way depends on you. But as soon as you feel an emotion, it’s always telling you to move from where you are currently. If you feel upset about someone and you’re holding it in, it’s telling you to do something about it. If you feel happy about someone’s success, it tells you to act genuinely. If you feel inspired by something, don’t think twice and move your hands to create art. Fear, I think, worked like a shroud, like a wrapper on a gift. If you get past this, you’re in for a surprise.

“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a feather bed.”

― Terence McKenna

Like all negative feelings, getting over it and pushing forward creates credibility in ourselves. It’s the key to building confidence and trust in our abilities. Use whatever strong emotion you’re feeling and propel your craft forward. Wield it as motivation, as inspiration, as an energy to create. Transfigure it. I think feeling fear and doing something about it was the proof that we’re alive, no matter how short and temporary our stint may be. Run towards discomfort, suck the energy that makes it, and turn it into works of art. Turn fear into life.

Life is on the other side of fear.

8/4/2025