Once you conquer your fears, it is possible to achieve anything you set out to do. FILE
By Seraphine Ruligirwa-Kamara
About two months ago, a confident and cheerful lady walked through my door. I was at home with my little girl who said a quick hello and milled about curiously as I chatted with the stranger.
An hour later, the woman became a part of our household and went about settling in as I carried on with some work on the table.
The next time the lady passed around, my little girl ran after her asking her why she “wasn’t putting her left foot down properly” when walking.
This question was posed ever so innocently that one could not even consider finding the child un-empathetic or rude, let alone take offence.
In spite all the awareness created over the years, we are yet to confidently say we have kicked polio out of Kenya. Explaining this to a six-year-old grew us in a new dimension.
Let’s just say we’re still answering questions about auntie’s leg but I tell you this story because of my daughter’s very direct question about a matter most of us would not only find uncomfortable but avoid bringing up at all costs.
A paralysing condition is systematically inculcated into our lives from a very early age.
We are trained to single out those who are different from us and treat them as such. It really is about ignorance.
Our lack of knowledge about others allows a considerable level of fear to reside in us. The fear translates into nil or limited contact with things or people unlike ourselves denying us the benefit of a different perspective that free, open and close interaction with them would afford us.
Conversely, this fear turns inward over time resulting in our own fear of being singled out. We end up avoiding standing out when others conform or seem in unison with the rest of the herd. This didn’t even occur to my daughter.
She saw an unusual phenomenon and had no qualms about inquiring into it because unlike you and I, no one has systematically taught fear to her. The thought that that her question would be uncomfortable or frowned upon didn’t even occur to her and if it did, it didn’t stop her question.
Now am not suggesting that you go around putting people on the spot by acting in a childlike manner. Am suggesting that we re-look at the all-encompassing “institution of fear” and how it affects our outcomes. How the fear in us keep us smack in the way of our own success.
Fear is a fantastic ‘people control’ mechanism. All one needs do is scare the day lights out of them the minute they gain some level of consciousness in childhood and keep them forever towing the line.
Even better is the fact that it becomes the default way of being — you don’t need to worry about the next generation because it will inevitably be passed on as the norm fondly referred to as “culture” or “custom”.
I say stop! Wake up and smell the fresh morning brew of the beautiful truth that we’re all equally gifted. That your ethnic background, the wealth or lack of it of your family, formal education, your creed or race do not determine how high you can scale.
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