“I was robbed”.

Last night, after I finished working on some photos, I checked my phone and clicked on an SMS that said that someone had made an internet purchase with my credit card, just a few minutes earlier. I knew it wasn’t me, so I quickly logged into my account and, to make a very long story short, 20 minutes later I had successfully canceled my card.

It was only later, when I was smoking a cigarette, that I thought to check my email. My domain registrar had written that they had successfully completed the automatic renewal of my domain name. Argh. I had canceled the card for nothing.

The fun was just beginning. The Italian post office offers a debit card for a nominal fee – take note USPS – and this morning I went down to negotiate getting another card. That started an epic Odyssey that did not end until this afternoon. I’ll spare you the details.

The important take-away from today was this: It would have been an inconvenient, but interesting, Ulysses-flavoured journey, if it weren’t for fear. The post office officials were sweet and patient, the procedure was efficient. It was a hassle, yes, but I needed to get out of the house, it was a nice day, and I got a bike ride out of it. But that pernicious fear kept sneaking in to get me.

Let’s list my fears in this situation: I would lose money; I would not be able to communicate effectively; someone would take advantage of my ignorance; I was vulnerable; foreigners are different and, therefore, dangerous.

My fears caused all kinds of behaviours and emotions that were out of proportion to the reality of the situation. Anger, frustration, cursing, reckless bicycling, all of those behaviours that we perform when we’re stressed and angry. If I had taken a moment to stop and breathe, analyse the situation objectively – periodically, throughout the experience – I would have quickly understood what was happening and repositioned the situation less as a threat and more as the adventure it really was.

Do you see where I’m going with this? When we perceive that something we value is threatened, we respond with all kinds of destructive behaviours and emotions. We call it anger, we call it frustration and we’re right, but not entirely. Because underneath both of those emotions is one common denominator: Fear.

Today’s take-away: Money may be the root of all evil, but it was planted in a rich soil of fear. It is a malignant and insidious devil.