From Fear to Confidence: A Mother’s Love in Action
A Strange Fear
Long ago, a young boy had an even stranger fear.
He was not afraid of the dark or the noises.
A sandwich, actually–something simple.
He would shake and scream like it was a monster every time he saw a sandwich.
It made his mother sad to see him ever this way.
But—and you must understand this—she loved her son and wanted to help him the best way she knew how.
Seeking Help
So, she brought him to a gentle therapist.
The therapist patiently heard me out and said, “This is a fear he created in his head.
Take him home and show him how a sandwich comes together, piece by piece.
Show him each part. This will take away the fear he has.”
Step-by-Step Learning
The mother took the advice.
She entered the kitchen with her son, and his eager eyes never left her.
She made a sandwich from two slices of bread and said, “Are you going to be afraid of this?”
The boy shook his head. “No,” he said softly.
Then she buttered and spread the butter on the bread.
“What about the butter?” she asked.
The boy, now unfazed, responded quietly, “No. He is no longer afraid.
Then came the lettuce.
She carefully dropped it on the bread.
“Does the lettuce scare you?” she asked.
The boy was much closer and said “No” but was more sure of himself.
She added some tomato slices. “What about these tomatoes?” she asked again.
The boy said, feeling much bolder now, “No.”
The tomatoes sat atop the bacon, so she layered the sandwich in slices.
The boy remained calm as he watched each run’s pieces proliferate and come together.
He was no longer trembling like earlier.
The Fear Returns
Finally, the mother held up both slices of bread with all the ingredients inside in her two hands.
“See? There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she said with a smile.
The boy stayed calm and was happy, and there was no fear.
But as soon as she pressed the slices together, making a whole sandwich, the boy screamed, “Sandwich!”
His tiny body began to tremble again, just like before.
Understanding the Fear
The therapist’s words came back to her:
“What we love or hate is not the essence of things or persons, but only their configuration.”
The boy didn’t fear the bread, butter, lettuce, or tomatoes on their own.
His fear came when all those pieces came together and formed the sandwich.
His mind had given the sandwich a power it didn’t indeed have.
Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create.” – Will Smith
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” – Marie Curie
“Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” – Seneca
