Check It Out: Fear shapes so much of life in Canada today
By Joan Janzen
As I began writing this week, I discovered it’s Mental Health Week. Statistics show one out of every four people is suffering from a mental illness. So look at your three best friends; if they’re OK, then it’s you.
That was a joke, but actual statistics show one in 10 Canadians report high levels of anxiety, with one in four receiving a lifetime diagnosis.
“Everywhere you turn there’s something to be anxious about: cost of living, high taxes, housing shortages, health-care strain and loss of freedom,” observed Marilyn Bryberg, who was discussing the topic online. “These are real pressures in a real world; these are not imaginary concerns. Fear shapes so much of life in Canada today.”
As an example, MP Kelly DeRidder recently shared how a Liberal MP attempted to recruit her to cross the floor.
“It was a phone call between a member of Parliament and myself. It started with fear that a person would be put into my riding that would be supported by both the Liberals and the Greens. And so as a Conservative, I didn’t stand a chance to win in the next election,” MP DeRidder explained.
The real danger is how easily these issues can cause fear that shapes our thinking and our reactions. In this case, Kelly DeRidder chose not to respond to the fear tactic. However, fear can easily become the lens through which we see everything. That’s why where we fix our focus matters so much.
“Focus becomes even more important when it’s not just our own thoughts pressing in, but the noise, urgency and fear shaping Canada right now,” Marilyn observed.
When fear is rooted in circumstances, it leads to anxiety, but fear rooted in reverence leads to stability. It serves as an anchor when everything else feels like it is shaken.
Scott Baio, who played the character Chachi on Happy Days years ago, gave an example of how fear can be helpful.
“My dad was a big intimidating Italian guy. There was a time when I started getting a big head and the producer on Happy Days wanted to fire me because I wasn’t taking things seriously and wasn’t performing well,” Scott explained.
His dad found out and told his son to “get his act together and get to work.” Because Scott respected his dad, he decided to take his advice, avoided getting fired and went on to enjoy a very successful career.
“I had a lot of fear of my dad, which I think is a good thing. Which is why I never did drugs and I never drank because of my dad. That’s why I didn’t fall into that trap,” he explained.
Scott’s respectful fear of his dad served as an anchor while he navigated the challenges of being a famous teen actor. However, fear doesn’t always play fair. It doesn’t sit quietly in the background. Instead, it tends to take over.
It pushes us to move before we’re ready, whispering, “You can’t stay here; you have to do something.” It rushes our thinking and shrinks our patience. It leaves no room to pause to seek wisdom, demanding immediate answers. It fills every gap of uncertainty with worst-case scenarios. It can feel like direction, but it’s really just pressure.
Fear says, “Do something, anything, just don’t wait.” But wisdom says otherwise.
Scott Baio shared another experience, when he had the opportunity to go to England for three months to film a movie. But his dad was not happy about having his wife and teenage son going to England for three months. He was afraid it would break up the family.
“I had started a new high school and my father went to the principal,” Scott said. His father didn’t want his wife and son going to England, and he gave the principal a lengthy explanation why. He thought the principal was going to agree with him, Scott noted.
However, the principal sat behind his desk and said, “Mr. Baio, if you don’t take your son to England to shoot this movie, I’ll be very upset because he’ll learn more about the world than I’d ever be able to teach him.”
His dad took time to seek the principal’s advice rather than be driven by fear and try to control the outcome.
“When we dig for truth ourselves, we’re less likely to be shaken by every new idea or circumstance,” Marilyn said.
While searching for solutions, we often look to a leader or someone else to give us the answers we so desperately need. We want clarity handed to us, reassurance spoken over us, direction packaged that feels certain and immediate, but that doesn’t always happen.
In these types of situations, people of faith look to God for strength, patience, courage and wisdom.
A popular psalm says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?”
We all need help to overcome fear and anxiety. Where does your help come from?