"Where there is fear," said Mohandas Gandhi, "we lose the way of our spirit." When we are in fear, we focus all our attention on the point of danger and lose our capacity to find any courage, security, or peace within ourselves. We become so obsessed with what threatens us that the inner strengths of the heart become inaudible. Perhaps this is why, in the Christian New Testament, the phrase "be not afraid" is found more than three hundred times. When we are afraid, we lose our ability to feel our own inner strength, and things precious and vital within us are smothered by our anxieties. When we spend all our days worried about how things will turn out, planning for whether we will have enough food, clothing, money, or love, then what kind of life have we protected? In spite of our plans and strategies, we never feel at peace.
— Wayne Muller, Legacy of the Heart