To be fearless

I’ve not been a timid person and every time I was, my father (more than my mother) has been a source of courage for me.

So this blog is in appreciation of the kind of man he is and the kind of woman he has made me. ☺

Before I complete I want to say there is a BIG difference between fearless and aggressiveness.

Fearless is when you take an action and continue taking actions irrespective of the consequences. But you are still a very emphatetic human being.

Aggressivness is when you want to intimidate others with your action. And that is done without any empathy (obviously).

And my father is a very humble person whose acts of fearlessness would have probably never come out if hadn’t he told me about them.

He worked as an accountant at a thermal plant in the state of Mizoram in India. He worked there while the state wasn’t officially a state yet. There was a terrorist organisation operating at that time called Mizoram National Force (they are no longer there, or are a political party now.)

So MNF once kidnapped the engineer working at the plant and demanded a ransom of Rs. 5,000/-. Since the company did not have that kind of cash lying around, my father’s superior decided to pay from his pocket.

So my father prepared a voucher and took it with him on his way to meet the terrorist. The place of was 24 hours away and he travelled on a boat for the same.

The minute he reached there he saw the terrorist standing with a gun and the engineer kidnapped.

My father handed the terrorist the voucher to sign as he gave the money.

As he tells us this story, my mother just looks at him aghast. He says, “Yes, I know the fellow could have easily shot me. But I had to get his sign otherwise my superior wouldn’t have gotten his money back from the company. And the terrorist was a literate, most people in Mizoram are. So it wasn’t a problem per se.”

If someone was so particular about rules and has such a deep integrity, then even such situations where he/she is facing death wouldn’t deter him from doing his duty.

Knowingly or unknowingly I have been taught these values by him and I am extremely grateful for that.

I hope I can bring those values in me more strongly.

Never once do I hope I’d intimidate anyone with my presence. That is something only weak people wish for. Your presence should bring joy to others and not fear. ☺

This is what it truly means to be fearless.

Someday when I get married and have my kids, I do hope to give them the same values and principles of being fearless.