S3 Ep. 194 Conquering Fear: Harnessing Words, Faith, and Control

Speaker 1: Hello there, welcome to the World Cafe podcast. This podcast has been designed with created content that centers on the power of words. Can we really do anything without speaking? Can we really do anything without the agency of words? Yes, that is what this podcast is all about, and I am your host , amakri Isubie, your neighborhood word trader. I believe in the power of words , for it is the unit of creation . I trade in words to profit my world. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good everything. Wherever you are on the surface of the earth at this very moment listening to me, how are you? How are you doing? I will always ask that question because it means a lot to me. It's not just a rhetorical question or just to, like you know, get out of your way, or something. Actually, it comes from that point of concern. Yes, because knowing that you are okay makes me feel good, because you're there listening. You are the reason why I'm here . You know how we say it on the show. This is the space where we come in to lean on one another's experience and to forge a positive path. Welcome, yes, to the World Cafe show. I know I will always say it this way, because this is what it is. I'm good, I'm very good where I am, you know, as in my location at the moment on the face of the earth, nigeria, yep, uh, the federal capital territory, and I'm grateful to god. Yes, it's been a summer in nigeria, so to say, but it's been raining and, irony, that's what we have here in nigeria, sun, or rather should I say that's what we have here in Nigeria. Sun, or rather should I say we have the wet and the dry. We have sun and rain. Those are the two seasons that categorizes who we are as a people. So I'm so glad yes, it's the holiday season, it will soon be over as a holiday for our children. You know, typically this period is when schools go on break and children on vacation, and blah, blah, blah, you have them at home and all of that. So, automatically, everybody's on vacation. When the children are on vacation, we are all on vacation . Yes, so that is what it is today. Today, as in, that is what is happening around here. Now. Something has been going through my mind for a while now. You know I always do that when I have these things, you know, going through my mind, I kind of process them. Then I come share with you. And this one, this one is weighty because we all, somehow, all of us, we are, should I say ? I won't say guilty, but we are prone, we are susceptible to it, more or less. What is it, you're wondering? Dealing with fear. You heard me Dealing with fear. So the other day I was processing these lines from scriptures. You know, I'll always go there Because I look at everything, everything for me, through the lens of scriptures and that's it , that's how I deal with it. So you know that famous scripture, eli, eli or Eloi, eloi lama sabachthani. I guess you know what, I know, you know what, when Christ was on the cross and he made that cry, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And I asked myself one question , going through it yes, we're talking about fear, dealing with fear. Was divinity afraid, like that statement connotes or provokes, or should I say gives off an appearance of fear? And he cried my father, my father, why have you forsaken me ? And I was like, at that instant , he was alone, at that very moment. So one major thing that strikes fear, one major thing for me, I think it's the unknown, when you are left alone. Let me describe what I mean, or should I say, give more, a better picture. A little child or a little kid, girl, boy as the case may be, who knows his father or her father is there to provide, to protect, and all of that you know it gives this level of confidence. First of all, people define fear from the word F-E-A-R false evidence that appears real. Yes, like we say, faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So fear is false evidence which seems to have an appearance of reality, which seems to have an appearance of reality. So what we see, or what we cannot see, so to say, evokes this image which appears before us and defines our reality, and we react to it. Fear, you not being in control of your tomorrow, so to say, strikes the chord of fear. Maybe you turn around, you look at your background, where you're coming from. Your support system is weak. It strikes off this fear. Okay, so now the question is how do I deal with fear? So someone asked me in our previous episode I think that was anxiety and all that. When I shared it, somebody came and I'm trying to get the right thing he said, so that I don't hit off course. So to say, I don't say it out of context, I won't mention the person's name. So he said navigating holiday chaos isn't easy. Finding peace through prayer can really shift your mindset. You know that's a question. He now asks me what's your go-to strategy for calm? How do I deal with fear? First of all, you see that word calm, some of my friends will always tell me. You always end every statement with calm down. Yes, calm down. And so I answered him. I answered him. I said I pay attention to my internal processes. My homeostatic quotient Big grammar, I think Stay on the basis of God's word Inside out, morally. So that word homeostasis is a scientific word, but I'm going to approach it from how Bankole Williams, when he was talking about it, the way he described it your internal processes. Yes, for those of us who did biology in school, homeostasis that when you look at a system that is balanced, is a function of its internal mechanism. The external is irrelevant as long as the that is balanced, it's a function of its internal mechanism. The external is irrelevant as long as the internal is taken care of. Remember man, man, as in human being, mankind, we are three-dimensional Image, likeness and form. What do I mean? Spirit, soul and body. We are spirits and we have souls and we dwell in body or in a body. So false evidence appearing real, it means there's this image we must constantly have in front of us. We must behold it perpetually if we must deal with fear and this is how I say it that's your internal, your inability. Like you, knowing that you don't have control over so many things, puts this pressure on you which evokes or provokes, as the case may be, fear. Come to think of it when you sit down, take a pen, take a piece of paper and a pen and begin to write down those things that you are in control of, things that you are in control of, yes, that you have the capacity. You have the what I use the word now ability to manage them, write them down. You come to see that when you begin to put them down, one after the other, you come to see that here dissipates. And that's how I deal with it. You know, when I get into that state of panic, something is like I'm not in control of it. I believe it's yep, all of us go through that. I become. I become like uneasy, I react the way I don't want to or I shouldn't. I come to hold myself back and ask okay, why are you reacting the way you're reacting? It's because you don't have control over that. But what do you have control over your emotions? Change, you know, also trumps up fear, and the truth is we live in a system that is in a constant flux of change. Things will never remain the same. Sorry, I didn't tell you this. My wife gave me a cup of coffee this morning before coming on set, so I have it with me. So I need to do justice to it, you know. So it trumps off change when this constant flux of change is all around us, so now around us. So now, how do I handle change? Because handling change in a way will settle me. And look at fear. Yes, because the season we're in, there's a lot of change going on, globally A lot, and some of the changes are in quick succession. You know like you call it disruptive. Now we now have a disruptive disruption that is ongoing. It keeps going on that way. The reaction is so fast that a lot of us can't keep up with the pace of the change and it's like it affects our finances, it affects our life processes, it affects the family life. Oh, I want to go on vacation. I can't anymore because this price increase. I want to do this, I want to do that, I want to do that. I mean what I used to do before . You know, I'd snap off my finger. I can't do them anymore. So what do I do now? Hello, it's changed. What do I do? I think the best way to handle it this is my opinion sit down, take a pen, a piece of paper, and begin to write those things that you are in control of. The minute you're able to pinpoint those things, there will be an elevation from that moment. Yes, do you know that sometimes , like we were told, you must eat three times a day? We were told by experts that when change comes, sometimes you eat once a day. You're fine, yes, you're fine. No, truly. Look at it from hindsight. Yes, you're fine. No, truly. Look at it from hindsight. Yes, you're fine. Okay, what if the change it's about you, you know, changing your routines, your lifestyle. You know places you go to, things you used to do, and all of that, okay, what if? And you begin to say that, ah, actually, I can live. I can live without those things . I can live, I can live without those things. I can live without them. Okay, before the advent of the internet and the growth of technology. You know, defining the way we do things. Cast your mind back for those of us who are the boomers and generation next, and all of that . We were fine. We were fine. Yes, so you see, it is an image. It has a lot to do with imagery , the way you perceive, the way you see, because, again, fear trumps off worry or worries. You begin to worry, you begin to nag, you begin to ask questions and the truth is, worry only does one thing Worry is a minus. It reduces you, it has the power of reducing balance, if I must use that word, because you don't add to yourself when you worry. You don't add, you don't grow in terms of positivity. Rather, you retrogress, you shrink, because the body system begins your physiology and your biology and your anatomy begins to experience you know, some chemical processes within you know and releases all the toxins that are not good for your system. The happy hormones are gone and you now have the crazy hormones playing their roles and you just see yourself degenerating, retrograding and all of that. Worry, yeah, worry. So you put it away, you take charge, take hold of those things within your control and you know what that is where you counterfear with faith. Now ask yourself this pertinent question how did you get here? Here I mean earth, wherever you are, wherever you are now Africa, asia, north South America, europe, iceland, greenland and the lands in between, wherever you are how did you get there? Were you conscious before this? So let us put it this way Somebody brought you here, someone I'm not talking about human, human, whatever. Now, god brought you here and he has. He's able, he's capable of sustaining you. So now, god's way of sustenance ? Now let me tell you something he provides and he sustains. Provision and sustenance comes from God. Yes, somebody will tell you what do you mean? In times of abundance, we have enough provision. In times of lack, we need sustenance. That's it. The world works in that cycle. So now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. That's it. The world works in that cycle. So now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, just as fear is false, evidence appearing real. So I counter it, I counter it. I counter it. Yes, I put my faith in him, I put my trust in him, I hold him here. I'm thinking about God, divinity, holding on to him, and he begins to like Direct my course, channel my thoughts, help my mind. So, guys, ask yourself this question. No, really do I want you to do. Ask yourself this question what are you afraid of? Most likely there are those things you don't have control over and they are not real. Mm-hmm, they are not. So think of those things you have control over. Like I said once, I was talking to my wife and I came up with this thought. You know, sometimes when I see people who brag of being powerful, being like we put it in the human sense, he's a very strong man, he's powerful, he's whatever. And I ask does he sleep? Does he or she sleep? They do sleep. So when they are asleep, do they know what is happening around them? Are they aware? Are they conscious? Know what is happening around them? Are they aware, are they conscious of what is happening around them? I don't think so. Even if you have 20 million bodyguards, they will sleep at the time. So, do you know who takes care of you when you are asleep? Do you know what happens around you? The thought of this gives me so much joy to know that there's a hand holding me, there's a hand leading me, there's a hand keeping me. There's a hand keeping me, there's a hand providing for me. So what do I do? I keep my grip on that hand. Yep, one way of dealing with fear. Guys, the world is going through a lot and we will yet see more disruptions and massive skills and all that. But listen, you don't have to be afraid. Or let me not say you don't have to be afraid, you can be afraid, there's no shame of it. But hello, listen, there's an answer to it. That hello, listen, there's an answer to it. There's an answer. And that is what we've been talking about sharing. It's false. It's a false evidence appearing real. It will pass, it will fade, it will go off. So what do I do? The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, in other words, the unseen has so much power over the seen . So if I hold on to the truth of the unseen, not the falsehood of the unseen, I am empowered, I'm emboldened to live my life victoriously, to be fulfilled. Yes, I know you have that purpose, you have that burning desire. You want to get on that global stage. You want to do that, you want to do that. But hello, hello, have faith. Want to do that? Then hello, hello, have faith. Have faith and stop comparing yourself with others. That's another thing that trumps up fear. You feel inadequate, you feel inadequate, you feel like you are inadequate, you feel like you are empty, you are not meeting up. You compare yourself. It strikes the chord of fear and sometimes fear drives us into doing stupid things in the name of throwing up your side. All right, I felt a draw by to share this with you, even as we see more changes around us. You know, and like my mom would say, I see a lot of change around me, but he who changes, not he is with me and that's the confidence I have. She says that in our dialects. I'm only translating it when she's in her prayers. There's a lot of change around me. How do I go about it? But she ended up with that he who does not change is with me and I think if we have that mindset and we hold on to him, a lot will go for us. He becomes our definition. You know our definition, which know our definition, which now it's our limitation. So to say, imagine God being your limitation, or would I say, imagine God being your limit. That limit is limitless. All right, guys, I have to go now, just to encourage you once again dealing with fear. You don't have to give into it. All right, just spread your hands, hold on to his unchanging hands and let him guide you all the way. All right, guys, I have to go now. Guide you all the way. All right, guys, I have to go now. Sincerely, I'm really happy that you're there listening and I hope this inspires you in so many levels. I have to go now, but till I come here again. It is always, always my pleasure. All right, then. Gotta run now Till I come here again. Bye for now. Awesome time it has been with you on the world cafe podcast today. Thank you for being there. You can catch me up on my social media handles Twitter, facebook, linkedin and Instagram , all at Amakri Isoboye. Also, you can get copies of my books A Cocktail of Words, the Color of Words by H Aaron Notebook and Hocus Pocus on God on Amazon and Roving Heights online bookstores. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel at the same address at Amakri Issawe. I love to hear from you and how this podcast has impacted you. You can leave me a message at my email address, am macrigaribaldi at gmailcom. That is A-M-A-C-H-R-E-E-E-G-A-R-I-B-A-L-D-I . Yes, till I come your way again . Bye for now, you.