Double~take | fear factor

It saves time to create our own fear

P

ut a meal in front of several dozen kids, and they will compete to outdo one another in feats of disgusting-ness. One hot dog with 21 pickle slices? No problem. Half a bowl of freshly sliced onions? You’ll have to confiscate it to stop them. Hide the food behind a sheet and call it Fear Factor? They’re practically barfing even when you say they just have to chug a can of pop, or eat half a dozen dry crackers. Psyche!

You can watch it happening, especially at the zip line (flying fox), or at the polar bear swim. Kids who leap enthusiastically into a freezing lake during afternoon swim time will cry and hide when you suggest they dip into a lukewarm lake at 7am to get cabin points. Why? It’s a polar bear swim. That means it’s cold…

The zip line is the best, though. You can just watch people convincing themselves that they’re terrified. We learn fast - soon we don’t even wait for the fear, we create it ourselves. Saves on time I guess - we know when we’re “supposed” to be scared, so we just get on with it.

Inspired quote of the week: “Don’t listen to the fear! It’s lying to you!”

(Maybe we need to play more poker, and learn how to call a bluff…)

Like everything else I guess, we like to be in control. Real fear - it’s so terrifying, and makes you so helpless, and we hate that; so we create a fear that we can control. Scary and sickening, but at least we’re the ones in charge of it. Reminds me of bulimia or something - but using what you fear instead of what you eat as a form of control. And the longer you train yourself to it, the more you get tied to it and can’t get away.

How many times does the Bible say “fear not”? I don’t know, but it’s a lot. When God repeats himself, it’s apparently a really good idea to pay attention.

 Double~take appears every Saturday on theRubicon. Find past Double~take posts and a bio of Stephanie Hung here.

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