The Functions of Fear

Regarding my last post--I'd forgotten the value, and function of fear; to cause prudence; to cause caution; to cause self-preservation. I need to remember those functions, rather than let the sensation itself work on my psyche (note that Cicero classified more than a dozen types of fear, but for the moment I'm subsuming them all within the one word):

Thanks, Flynn, for the reminder!

Below, Philippe Petit walks the wire in Australia, from the most inspiring film I know, "Man on Wire". This man, without fear, would not have accomplished what he did; he would have dashed out onto the wire without a care. Rather, fear guided him to spend a year of preparations.