Love is the Opposite of Fear

FLOW consists of two core elements:

1.  An unabashed passion for free enterprise
2.  An unabashed passion for doing good

And yet we are continuing to refine exactly what we mean by each of these elements.

In a long conversation with John Mackey yesterday, I proposed two key foundations for the "unabashed passion for doing good,"

1.  Transcending the ego
2.  "Love is the opposite of fear"

There will necessarily also be a rational component of doing good - one needs to figure out what the consequences of one's actions will be, and if the consequences of one's actions will be positive or negative.  That said, in this conversation we were most interested in the more internal, psychological aspects of manifesting good ("spirituality," if you will, though as a scientific materialist the term is unnecessary to me personally).

Transcending the ego is important insofar as much harm and short-sightedness comes from being driven by ego.  Many mindfulness practices, as well as traditional religious practices and philosophical reflection, seeks to help people to transcend their ego.  And yet complete transcendence of ego is rarely possible for most people.  At best we can be reminded that the ego should not be the primary driver of our behavior and identity; it is a part of being human, but to mistake one's ego for one's being is to mistake a partial and misleading portion of one's being for the whole.

The discussion of the role of the ego and the extent to which it can be transcended is an endless conversation.  John and I agreed that the expression, from The Course in Miracles, that "Love is the opposite of fear" is far easier to understand and communicate.  Far more than is realized, fear drives behavior.  If we are coming from a place of love, compassion, and abundance, we are less likely to be graspy and antagonistic in our interactions with others.  Whenever we are not feeling loving and compassion towards others, it is always useful to stop and see if there is an underlying fear interfering with the interaction.

I suppose there are people who regard a stance of love and compassion towards others as, in some sense, unnatural and alien.  They might believe that their lack of love is not motivated by fear.  I don't know about such people.

For me, "love is the opposite of fear" is a very helpful rule of thumb, which I can use to remind myself whenever I am not acting out of love that I must have some underlying fear.  And, of course, I have much such fear - this is why the dictum is useful to me.

Peace,

Michael