A mother tells her child. “Don’t be afraid my son, be a man”
That is not what a man is. A man is he who is afraid yet steps forward despite and because he is. We are not without our faults but fear is not to be feared. It is energy coursing in our veins when danger looms close and the waves cover our heads. Fear is a drive to avoid harm or to seek and eradicate the evil of cruelty and hate.
Embrace fear and find yourself on the other side, not brave, but whole. The man who hides his fear, will less inspire others to step forward and change.
One last notion. Nature does not waste. Fear is not a mistake or error but a mechanism for survival and growth. It is perverted into hate and cowardice when it does not go to its natural path of self preservation and progress.
A man is nothing when confronted by a lion but lion is nothing when confronted by a human.
The Martial Art of Walking 