IN my previous article (here) I wrote about how ancient man used his senses to conquer his immediate environs.
Thus, what he saw, heard, tasted ,touched and smelled became absolutely vital for his survival.
Over the thousands of years that have passed, nothing has changed since and whether we realise it or not, this connection with our senses is still just as vital for man’s survival.
So man conquered his immediate environs using his senses, killed any wild animal and reaped the rewards of whatever plant life, food and water that was available.
Continued below…
All was bliss for the moment but what happened when these supplies diminished (man had not yet developed the art of growing his own food)?
Man was left with no alternative but to delve deeper into the forest for richer pickings.
No doubt this venturing deeper brought more rewards (food etc.) but it also brought more danger. There was an increased chance of attack from a ferocious wild animal or even attack from a neighbouring tribe who were also out foraging for food.
The obvious link here is that when we move out of our neighbourhood (comfort zone) there is increased risk (possibility of death) but the greater the risk we take the greater the reward (rich pickings).
This is what I mean by stepping out of our comfort zone. This is part and parcel of the evolution of man.
There is a very simple but effective book available called ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ by Dr Spenser Johnson and there is also a short video on Youtube (click here).
Briefly it is the story of four mice in a maze – the have more than an ample supply of cheese (rich pickings).
Two of the mice remain with the rich pickings while the other two develop awareness that the supplies will run out and take a risk (fear) of leaving their comfort zone in search of further rewards.
Continued below…
There is a direct link between fear (taking a risk) and reward. This is where the expression – ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ comes in.
As I said with regard to the evolution of our bodies, nothing much has changed over the centuries. What has changed is the amount of dangerous animals that can kill us – they have utterly diminished to the point of being negligent so there is no real danger.
The problem is when we move out of our comfort zone there is a perception of danger. Our bodies do not know the difference between real and perceived dangers and they react in the same way.
We cannot always control what happens to us in life but using our awareness of our thought process we can always control how we react. I have now gone full circle back to the area of control again.
As human beings, when we are in control, fear dissipates. If you were driving a car and the steering wheel broke there is immediate fear – for instance you were turning right and the car kept going left. If the steering wheel worked as normal there is no problem and we are in control.
In the modern world we live in, the imminent dangers of sudden death are all but diminished, but our perceived dangers have increased multifold.
Our bodies react in the same way so if we want to live a stress free life we must learn to adapt to life in the modern world.
This can only happen when we have the awareness of how and why our bodies work (react) to modern living.
Next week’s article – Fear and living in the modern world
