If you bike commute, you’re likely a familiar friend of fear. Undesirable vehicle (UDV) drivers feel fear too. They fear the drunken driver. They fear following the close call they experience once every couple of years. They fear looking bad. They drive the nicest UDV they can’t afford so they feel respected. They fear non-conformance. I don’t like fearing those things. I don’t like fear.

That is one thing I really like about western religion. For the most part, the only thing they teach you to fear is god. The rest is “Ye, though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil.”

I think about the people who fear the most in this world. I feel like they’re the ones who own the most, have the most power, are the coolest, the richest, the most beautiful. They have so much they always fear that they’re going to lose something. Kim Jong Il and the Iranian government are perfect examples. They fear and thus create fear to control their own fear. Voodoo priest are similar. They control by fear — creating more fear, combated by fear, combated by rituals originating from fear, etc.

The best quote I’ve heard regarding fear is extremely cheesy but is useful in a certain context…Yoda: “Fear leads to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads suffering” — suffering like the people in Darfur, Korea and Iran. I think that that quote could start with, “Possession leads to fear…” The Dark Side here is obviously evil and evil is bad.

Most of the people I know drive UDVs. As a bike commuter, there’s not much else I fear other than UDVs. Take UDVs out of traffic and I have almost complete freedom to operate. Although I fear these people in their UDVs, I do not fear for myself. I fear that my children and future generations will not enjoy, even modestly, the privileges that I’ve enjoyed in this life — opportunities to eat, be reasonably comfortable, and to travel modestly and learn new cultures.

Does UDV use lead me to fear? Yes. Does UDV use lead me to anger? Yes. Does it lead me to hate? I don’t think so. There is where I break from Yoda. I do not possess the future of my children and future generations. While I fear for their future, it is a fear born of caring and love. My fear leads me to conserve, to return the privilege, to sacrifice, to return the love I’ve been shown. I am determined to continue to fear…to continue to conserve…and more importantly, love. I love for my son, daughter, others.

I hope you will find the joy I’ve experienced from sacrificing my convenience for the future of others.

I hope you continue to fear. May your fear lead to love.