“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear” Aung San Suu Kyi
It has been well documented that at its most primal level our biggest human fears are fear of
rejection and loneliness, fear of failure, and fear of death. Clearly, it’s the last one that has
dominated our country over the last two years, so strongly in fact that it has caused us to push aside
the others.
So why is it everyone so afraid of the current COVID-19 pandemic? So afraid that governments
would close all borders and obstruct citizens returning home, prohibit children going to school and
stop people from going to work.
It’s simple. Our leadership, media and health experts have used and spread fear in order to control
the country’s population in the name of safety.
By March 2020, we all knew that COVID would kill and undoubtedly our leaders were right to pause
and assess the situation before moving forward as a country. We needed to prepare for the fight
against COVID. It was necessary to educate our communities, enhance our public health systems and
develop vaccines. What was also needed, but sadly lacking, was to prepare our collective mindset.
Given the fear of death is one of our biggest, we needed resilience and compassion for the fight. To
come together as a country. Undoubtedly, our mindset should have been a key weapon in the battle
against COVID.
But, instead of fighting, we decided to try and hide.
Now 18 months later, our leaders are just realising what some have known for a long time. We can’t
beat COVID, and we can’t hide from it. It only needs a small undetected foot hold, and it will spread.
Today, almost two years on, some states are still scared and hiding, hoping it magically goes away
soon. Still our only weapons to fight COVID are lockdowns and vaccines and we know both won’t go
close to saving all lives. Even if our vaccines were 100% effective now, they won’t be next year when
there is a new, possibly more deadly strain.
The end result of all this hiding?
More division, hate and fear than ever before in this country.
How much has been achieved by all we have endured over the last 18 months and continue to
endure today? Is the false illusion of safety worth the re-prioritisation of our country’s values? Does
the transfer of responsibility for personal safety from the individual to the government make us
safer in the long term? And if it does, is the improvement worth the cost to Australia’s principal
value of “respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual”?
The use of fear has become so commonplace we no longer even recognise we are afraid.
Our leaders know we desire safety. “Thanks for keeping me safe Premier” we read and hear
regularly. Approval ratings have never been higher while we continue to hide from COVID with
quarantine’s, lockdowns and borders closures. There is open public angry at “those people putting
us at risk”. All the while, our country goes deeper and deeper into debt.
All with no real plan. Just a hope. That we can save every life.
Unfortunately we cannot.
And not only can we not save every life, it also shouldn’t be our top priority. Our priority should be
our countries values, beliefs, and principles. The very thing that makes us all Australian.
It’s time to fight to save our culture. Our countries soul. Because left uncontrolled, these fears will
lead to regret and regret can devastate our lives.
So how do we overcome these fears?
We accept we are afraid, and we move forward.
I have had to overcome many fears in my life, including the fear of death. And never have I
overcome fear by pretending I could hide from it or avoid it. I have only ever overcome fear by
acknowledging it. To face it and make a truce a with it. I accept that it is a part of me, and I allow
myself to live my best life with it. To keep the fear in my head and out of my heart and soul.
What we need now is to overcome the fear of death in order to be able to live. I would rather live a
short life full of adventure, experience, purpose and passion than a long one void of freedom and
filled with ‘what if’s’.
It’s with this in mind, I declare that I won’t let your fear control me. I will continue to live so that my
encounter with death, whenever it might come, will not be accompanied by regret.
This has never been more important than in our current climate. Despite twelve weeks now spent
isolated in quarantines, not being allowed to travel to see my family, my life is still good. And I
continue to work to make it better.
At a time when people feel their lives are on pause; waiting for their next holiday, for lockdown to
finish, or my personal favourite, to ‘get their freedom’s back’; I am continuing to live. To move
forward and improve.
Recently Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated,
“It’s time to give Australians their lives back. We’ve saved lives. We’ve saved livelihoods but we must
work together to ensure that Australians can reclaim the lives that they once had in this country”
My reply to Mr Morrison, I never gave you my life and it is not yours to give back. While you have
prolonged some lives you have not saved them. The only way to save a life is to make sure it is not
squandered. That it is not lived in fear, trying desperately to prolong it while hiding from all danger.
Dealing with our fears and accepting some risk is a natural part of life. We know we can’t live longer
so it goes without saying we should try to live better. With purpose, passion and void of regret.
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
Marcus Aurelius