Conquering Fear

I'd Prefer to Live in My Apartment

In nine chapters, the author discusses fear of terrorism, fear of natural disasters, fear of rapid change, fear that humanity will destroy itself, fear of loss and rejection, fear of growing old, and fear of death. As always, Kushner uses vignettes to illustrate points, making them very readable and memorable. In the introduction to the chapter on the fear of death, he quotes Woody Allen, saying, "Rather than live on in the hearts and minds of my fellow men, I'd prefer to live on in my apartment." (Funny.) Having reached a stage in my life when I have few things left to fear -- not that I've ever been particularly a fearful person, I didn't read the book to meet a personal need. Rather, I read it because I love Kushner's profound wisdom which he expresses in easy, understandable language. This book did not resonate with me in the same way as his others I have read, including most of the books he has written. The most remarkable enlightenment that came to me was the notion that he speaks of a human being having a body and a soul, with divinity in there somewhere; and I see human beings as having a body, a soul, and a spirit, with the spirit being the divine. Hence in my view, the divine is eternal; therefore, that part of the human being that is divine, and part of all that is divine, is eternal. He sees life as having an end; I see it as impossible to end. The part that did resonate with me more than any is the idea of being not afraid of death but being afraid of not finishing my human task before the human part of me dies. As Wayne Dyer says, don't let your music die in you. That is my greatest, and possibly only, fear. Read more