The Lion Within the Light

Fear is a funny thing. It doesn’t knock, but rather quietly slips in, much like a shadow entering from under the door. Before you’ve even realized, the uninvited guest has already made itself at home.

It starts in your brain, taking shape in the tiny alarm of your mind, the amygdala. Then suddenly, when that bell rings, your neurons spark like fireworks, firing electrical signals in mere nanoseconds. The message is simple: danger.

Your heart responds just as fast, and it starts to beat faster and faster and faster. It pushes blood through each of your chambers and your aorta. Your lungs expand, pulling in more oxygen as adrenaline rushes into your bloodstream. This is it. Fight or flight. Survive or surrender.

No matter how trivial the situation, fear can seize us in ways we cannot even describe. It may feel like hiccup for some, a shiver for others, but our bodies ultimately react the same way.

This Diwali, beneath the shine of the lamps and the echo of firecrackers, maybe we can take a closer look at what we’re really celebrating. Your body will still feel fear and anxiety, because that’s just the neurons doing their job. But you, the human behind them, you get to decide what happens next.

There is a lion sitting inside all of us, safeguarding our happiness and defending our soul. And when it roars, it’s a reminder: don’t hide your emotions, but don’t let your emotions hide you.

Have you ever

Have you ever laughed so suddenly that it surprised you before it surprised anyone else in the room?

That reflex, before you've even decided to find something funny — that's Hāsya. Not performed. Just arriving.