An Anatomy of Fear
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I’d like to see you living in better conditions.” — Hafiz
We tend to imagine fear as a feeling: a tremor in the chest, a tightening in the gut. But fear is more than an emotion. It’s an architecture. It builds rooms inside us and then convinces us we are safer when we stay locked in.
Nations do this too. Fear gives order to the anxious heart of empire. It arranges hierarchies, labels danger, and builds policies around preservation, not of life, but of control. When leaders worship fear, they build walls instead of bridges and call it security. They criminalize difference and call it peace.
The theologian Howard Thurman called fear one of the persistent hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the disinherited.1 He understood what empire knows well: that fear doesn’t just suppress others; it deforms the souls of those who wield it. A frightened people are easy to govern and hard to awaken.
Spiritually, fear is what happens when our imagination of God shrinks. When the Infinite becomes tribal, when love is rationed, when we forget that belonging is not a zero-sum game. Fear is the failure to remember who we are: beings woven of dust and divinity, designed for connection, not domination.
The work of unlearning fear is the work of returning to reality. Creation itself bears witness against our illusions of scarcity. Look around: sunlight spilling over rooftops without discrimination; trees photosynthesizing oxygen for all, without concern for worthiness. In such a world, fear is not realism. It’s rebellion against the generosity of being itself.
But this transformation — from fear to freedom — doesn’t happen by denial. It begins with reverent attention. To notice where fear is whispering: Don’t speak. Don’t risk. Don’t love. And then, gently but firmly, to disobey.
The mystics across traditions teach that courage is not the absence of fear but the refusal to give it authority. Faith, in this light, is not belief in a doctrine; it’s participation in the deeper current of reality that is love. And love, as John reminds us, drives out fear not by force but by presence.
To live without fear is not to be fearless. It is to remember that fear is not the truth.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where has fear built a “cheap room” in your heart — one you’ve mistaken for safety?
How does fear disguise itself as prudence, realism, or tradition in your community?
What would it mean for you to live from the deeper current of love instead of the architecture of fear?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Unlearning of Fear
Love that breathes galaxies into being, you know the smallness that grips our hearts. You know how fear builds its walls and calls them homes. Dismantle them gently. Let light in through the cracks. Show us the vastness beyond our certainties, the wideness of your mercy that fear can’t comprehend. When we are tempted to confuse control with safety, call us back to the wild trust of your love. Teach us again that courage is not conquest — it is communion. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Mapping Fear
Set aside ten quiet minutes today.
Draw a simple outline of a house. Label each room with a fear that lives there — fear of failure, of rejection, of loss, of speaking up.
Then, at the center, draw an open window. Write one word that could let fresh air in — compassion, truth, courage, love. Sit with that word.
Now, imagine what it would feel like to step outside that house, not to destroy it, but to realize you were never meant to live there forever.
Let your breath become a prayer: Love, make me larger than my fear.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
January 6, 13, 20, 2026 - Protest and Action Chaplaincy Training with Rev. Anna Galladay. This live, online training offers a framework for providing compassionate, grounded spiritual care during protests, advocacy gatherings, and social movements. Learn more here.
January 15, 2026, 7-8pm EST - FREE Online Webinar: When the Internet Hurts: The Hidden Online Dangers Facing Our Teens and How Faith Communities Can Respond, Join me in conversation with Sharon Winkler, survivor parent and nationally respected youth online-safety advocate. Sharon’s son, Alex, died at age 17 after experiencing cyberbullying and algorithmically targeted pro-suicide content. Since then, Sharon has dedicated her life to helping parents, educators, and faith leaders recognize online dangers and build safer communities for young people. Register here.
February 11th and 25, 2026 - Join Our “Building a Culture of Leadership Within Congregations” Cohort facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and me! A two-session course for ministers and faith leaders ready to strengthen how their congregations and ministries identify, develop, and support leaders. Learn more here.
July 19-24, 2026 - Join me and amazing co-facilitator, Victoria, on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This new section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Do you know the great folks at Spiritual Wanderlust? They are giving us with such great courses and teaching. I’m excited about this series on the mystics.
Joshua Michael Schrei is the producer of the “The Emerald” podcast. It is SOOOOO good. Here is one of my recent favorite episodes, but all of them are worth listening to. Fix a hot cup of tea, settle in and enjoy every minute!
Brian McLaren just published his first sci-fi book, The Last Voyage. It’s the first book of a three part series. It’s brilliant, important and such a fun read. We should have a book club session on this one.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5390/ - Eisenstadt, Peter. Against the Hounds of Hell, A Life of Howard Thurman, University of Virginia Press, 2021.
See also:
There is a real disconnect with the American people. They are seeing their freedoms and life being destroyed and are expressing it in numbers but, not in actions. Their lives are being destroyed and they are standing by watching instead of saying NO!!!