Born to be... wild?

I noticed something interesting this morning while playing with my 6 month old niece. What I set out to be a random act of play, actually scared the living bejesus out of her. I was carrying her and I kept pretending to drop her, without actually letting go of her one bit. (I simply bent my knees and added some sound effects). She would tightly shut her eyes and grab on to me even more closely each time I made that swooping motion. After the novelty wore off the first time, she clearly expressed her disdain for this “playful” behavior.

What transpired from this unseeming experiment was the realization that people are inherently fearful. They’re born with fear of falling without being caught, born with fear of dying without being saved, born with fear of suffering without cure, born with fear of pain without relief… My question is why? Why is this fear instilled in us from the moment we begin life? Is it because we have an innate understanding of how precious life is? Or is it because we know that it took us nine months to finally see light, but it could only take a split second to return to darkness?

I guess the answers lie in my niece’s mind – a mind waiting to explore the possibilities awaiting her in this world filled with danger. “Don’t worry,” I told her, “I got you.” And that’s when I came to even a bigger realization: I loved her infinitely, and would risk my life without a flinch for her. We may be born with fear of dying, but more importantly, we’re born with the courage to protect those we love.