Between Fear and Love
- Richard
- Jun 26
- 3 min read
During our stay in Estonia we went on a 'hunt' for brown bears. Not with guns of course, but with our cameras at the ready. Hoping to catch a glimpse of these impressive animals in their natural habitat. And with success! Exciting? Absolutely. Scared? No, not really. Just as exciting as when we drove a bit through Russia, completely legally, without a visa or any passport control. Many people ask us: "Are you never scared?" Searching for bears, driving along deep abysses and crossing the Russian border...
The answer is: almost never. But of course I do sometimes squeeze him. Like that one time in Portugal, on a steep, muddy hairpin bend. Globus 2 refused to climb any further and we slid closer and closer to the ravine. Or in the High Atlas of Morocco, where we were driving on a narrow dirt road, a rock face on the right, an endless abyss on the left. Those are the moments when I feel the fear. But I feel the most tension when we Globus 2 have to leave behind in a busy city. Because if Globus 2 disappears, we will not only lose our means of transportation, but also our house, our home.
Who let fear in?
Fear is a natural emotion. It warns us of danger, helps us stay alert. But haven’t we become a little too afraid? Afraid of animals, of unknown places, of each other. Not because that fear is real, but because we have become so far removed from nature and from ourselves. As a child, I didn’t know that fear. Who let it in? And why do we so often let it take over?
Disaster scenarios
Our society is set up for control and security, literally and figuratively. Fear rules. From warning signs and fences to NATO that sketches disaster scenarios every day. If we let this fear in, can't we also decide to let it out again?
"Fear knocked on the door. Trust opened the door. No one was there."
Borders and barbed wire
During this trip we drove a bit through Russia. No border control, no passport check, just a piece of road between two countries. Yet there are high fences, terrifyingly decorated with barbed wire. Not put up by the Russians, but by 'us'. Are we so afraid that someone will come our way? If tanks ever come, those fences won't stop them, right?
St. Petersburg
It's bizarre when you think about it. Why can't we as humans just move freely around this earth? Who decides that a certain piece of land belongs to someone and that you can't go there unless you have 'permission'? We wanted to travel to Finland via St. Petersburg. Instead, we opted for the 'safe' crossing from Tallinn to Helsinki.
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Fear or Love?
In the course I am currently taking I learn something simple, yet powerful: there are only two basic human states: Fear and Love. All other emotions stem from them. Anger, sadness and disgust stem from Fear. Joy, connection and wonder stem from Love. And maybe… isn’t Fear really just a cry for Love?
Love
And then I ask myself the question: what if we would choose Love more often? For trust, openness, connection with each other, with nature, with ourselves? What if we were not guided by the darkest scenario, but by the most beautiful? Maybe then, like the bears in Estonia, we would live a little closer to our origins. Fearless, free and connected. Because ultimately that is what traveling reminds us again and again: that the world is not 'ours' but that we are its.
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