Fear can be an Advantage

In the movie “The Dark Night Rises”, Batman is condemned to a pit, a prison which has no bars or guards. It’s a pit which gives a prisoner the hope that he/she can get out of the pit and be free. They just need to climb up the pit wall and they can be free. They also get a rope for safety so if one falls while climbing the pit’s wall the rope won’t let them die.

It’s probably the most painful prison because it keeps the hope alive that you can get out of it and taste the freedom. But it tests the prisoner’s strength; both mental and physical to actually be able to climb out of it. Since the wall is so steep that everyone who has tried to climb out has failed except one.

But Batman has to climb out of the pit and he has to do it quickly else his city; “Gotham City” will be destroyed by the evil forces. So he prepares himself physically and he is fearless to fail and fall down while trying, He has NO FEAR of dying as he has nothing to look up to in his life. No one is waiting for him at home, no one is waiting to hear his voice.

In his view prisoners have failed to climb out of the pit because, they all fear death. And his absence of fear will help him to come out the pit.

He prepares himself for his first try. Aggressively he walks up to the pit wall, ties the safety rope and starts climbing up the pit. As he is attempting the impossible, he slips his hand and falls down. Though the safety rope protects him from dying but its breaks his back and more importantly his soul.

He tries many more times but the outcome remains same. At last he is almost out of hope that he will never get out. Just than a fellow prisoner, an old man who has been in the pit for many years advises that it is because of fear he is not able to get out of the pit.

Batman gets annoyed that he doesn’t fear anything and certainly not death. The old man speaks slowly and advises that he is failing because he has NO FEAR. Only when he has fear he will put everything he has (mind and body) to climb out of the pit.

Batman understands his point and decides to make one last & final attempt and this time without any safety rope. Now either he will make the climb or he will fall and die! He starts his last climb with all he has left in his legs, fingers, & hands. The fear of falling helps him to focus on every move very carefully and finally he climbs out of the pit and frees himself from the prison.

What one can understand from this tale is that everything has a positive and negative side to it. If presence of fear is evil at most times, it can be a boon in certain situations. In our life as well, fear can be used positively. It makes us more accountable for the actions we do and makes us more cautious about our decisions.

Not all fear is bad! What matters is how we use the fear to our advantage.