Fear is Learned...?

My 8 month old daughter, Harmony Belle, often crawls to the edge of the bed, couch or changing table and tries to crawl off the edge. Luckily I always catch her. She also continuously bonks her head on chairs, tables and the like, causing tears to exude. She obviously, at this age, does not know the meaning of pain, or comprehend that there are consequences to her actions. She has no boundaries and also no fear of falling. No fear. Imagine living like that? We'd die a lot quicker, since we wouldn't fear death or hurting ourselves. Fear can seem like a bad thing at times, but isn't some necessary in order to grow and live? Some say, "Knowledge is bliss" yet knowledge is also pain. The more knowledge we gain, the more we fear, hurt, and realize that this world is full of pain, that there are things that cannot be repaired, healed or understood. The more we learn, the more we realize how little we truly know. The wiser we become, the more we should see how foolish and unaware we are of so much more. As I backpacked through Europe in Spring of 2008 meeting hundreds of people from various backgrounds, I realized that this world has so much more to see and experience than I had ever imagined. I met so many fellow travellers and we exchanged our views of eachothers' cultures, sharing music, food, art, ideas and languages. We discussed politics, environmental issues, health, cooking, fashion, books, education, etc. There is so much out there that I'll never see, taste, or touch. The other day I talked with Devoe about how these days, we can get to know people on the other side of the planet with the click of a button. With the internet, knowledge of the entire world is at our fingertips making it seem so small, making almost everything and everyone accessible. In past decades/centuries and even now, some people never leave thier hometown/state/country/continent, and have not experienced any food, language, religion or community beyond thier local culture. In this case, many fear what they do not know or understand and therefore often establish prejudices, which leads to the many sad consequences we experience today in a world riddled with war and hatred. We are also taught to fear certain things/ways of life/cultures, we are conditioned to perceive life the way those before us have. But there is always a way to break the cycle of fear. There is always the choice to say, "I will be open-minded and open-hearted to learning something new," and perhaps less fearful of being open-handed towards someone new as well. I highly recommend www.couchsurfing.com to anyone interested in broadening thier perspective and relationship with our global community. I often ask myself, "How will I teach my daughter about this huge world? What will I teach her to fear, to love, to avoid, to explore?" I know so little, yet perhaps having the humility to acknowledge and accept this fact is the best way to start.