Finding Peace Beyond Fear

Do you remember reading the work of Khalil Gibran when you were in school? He was a Lebanese-American poet, writer and visual artist as well as a popular topic of discussion in English and philosophy classes. In 1923, Gibran wrote one of the best-selling books of all time—The Prophet, which has never been out of print and is still widely read today.

Last week, I came across a social media post of Gibran’s most famous poem— “Fear.” When I read it again, I can understand why it had such an impact on me when I first learned about Khalil’s poetry in high school.

I want to share it with you here:

FEAR
by Khalil Gibran

It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,

the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter

there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.
The river cannot go back.

Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then fear will disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing in the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.

What a powerful piece! Can you relate to the plight of the river? Do you remember feeling this kind of fear? We’re all very familiar with the power fear often has over us. One of the toughest emotions we face in our lives is fear. Especially now with all that’s going on in the world. Fear can be paralyzing as it clouds our thoughts with negativity, takes control of our rational mind and causes us to doubt our true purpose.

There are so many lessons we can learn from this story: The importance of leaving our comfort zone and taking risks. The value of moving forward. The meaning of loss or whether we really lose anything at all. The healing power of staying in the present moment.

Here’s the message I love most about this poem: Whenever any fearful events or challenges occur in our lives—always remember, we are not alone. We are all part of something much bigger.