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Courting Fear by Alok Srivastava

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My friend Alok often articulates my thoughts better than I can articulate them to myself. When I chat with him, I often say, "Yes, that is exactly how I felt but wasn't able to express it in words." Today he sent the following poem and I had that same thought. I feel obligated to share it with the world, especially with entrepreneurs, because it can help us in "courting fear".

    Courting Fear

    There is more to fear, one finds, in the absence of fear.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    On overcoming fear, one finds, there is more to fear than one was able to see before.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    The conquest of fear expands one's grasp of fear producing realities.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    To see is to keep one's eyes open when the illumination produced by light is blinding.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear wraps one in the security of blindness and the empty blameless bliss of ignorance.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Those overcome by fear lose the preparative stimulation of the bouquet in a well poured glass of wine.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Overcoming fear unblinds one to the bouquet swirling in the empty-half of the glass waiting to prepare you for the full-half.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is uncertainty's possibilities forsaken.

    (Such is the nature of the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Caution is fear seduced; adventure is fear reveled.

    (Such is the invitation in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is curiosity attempting to be digested as the shape of the future.

    (Such is the invitation in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is the alarm bell of curiosity and the chimes of uncertainty's possibilities.

    (Such is the invitation in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is the bouquet of the unknown's promises, waiting to be taken in.

    (Such is the invitation in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is the audit of one's unfinished education confronting the infinitude of the next moment.

    (Such is the awareness in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is the revelation that one's grasp of reality far exceeds the grasp of one's knowledge.

    (Such is the awareness in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is the crafting force of our engagement with nature.

    (Such is the awareness in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    Fear is curiosity without hubris.

    (Such is the awareness in the blindness brought about by fear.)

    - Alok Srivastava (Mar 1st, 2007)

Alok Srivastava is a biotechnology entrepreneur in San Francisco who originally trained as a biologist at MIT in Boston and as a chemist at IIT in Mumbai. If you (like me) believe that he should publish his poems please leave a comment and I will forward your thoughts to him.


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