What should we do when stage fright paralyzes us?
When fear gets in the way?
When anxiety overwhelms us?
Let's join Paul and Pablo as they look at the mechanism of fear
behind the scenes.
Everyone at Pablo's school is preparing for the yearly theatre performance and
Pablo has chosen the role of technician.
From the backstage he has first of all to pull on a chain
to open a trapdoor in the floor and then he has to pull on a second chain to bring the enchanted
table up onto the stage.
The performance is scheduled for this afternoon and Pablo can't
help but feel worried and agitated.
At first Paul tries to do his work despite his son's agitation
but eventually he gives up,
Puts his pencil down and turns to Pablo.
Hey Pablo,
You don't quite
seem yourself.
Is anything the matter?
Paul asks.
Yeah Dad,
I dreamt that at the moment when Nicholas
pronounces the magic formula to make the table appear,
I pulled on the second chain and the
table crashed under the trapdoor and it just stayed stuck.
Just thinking about that makes me
feel really crushed,
Pablo gasped.
Ah,
You just had a nightmare,
Paul says calmly.
But Dad,
That wasn't
even the end of it,
Continues Pablo out of breath.
Then I hurried to pull the first chain and it was
Nicholas who fell into the pit this time and the teacher was furious and the theatre performance
stopped right there and then all the parents were glaring at me as I left the room.
I would have
preferred to disappear into the trapdoor myself with the magic table or maybe even be crushed
with the table.
Oh Dad,
I don't want to go this afternoon.
I think I'm gonna say that I'm sick,
Sighs Pablo.
Oh Pablo,
That sounds like it must have been a horrible nightmare,
A really unpleasant experience.
I can see why you're feeling all uncomfortable now but let's just look at this for a moment.
You
were lying in bed safely but what I hear is that it felt like your worst-case scenario was coming
true.
So maybe it's not just the table in the play that's magical,
Paul concludes with a wink to Pablo
and with a smile in his voice.
What do you mean,
As Pablo intrigued.
Well,
Says Paul,
Instead of feeling the
true reality,
That is the comfort of your bed,
It sounds to me like you felt the story fiction of
your dreams,
The stress of your scenario where everything went wrong,
As if you were actually
there.
Isn't that a kind of magic,
Asked Paul.
Pablo for once is speechless.
I never thought of it that way,
Pablo says.
Paul smiles at Pablo and continues.
It's as if the true reality was just the theatre
set and the story we imagine,
The apparent reality,
As if we were at the theatre,
Paul continues.
Wow,
Pablo blows.
I was dreaming of having a magic table like in the play and well,
It's nothing
compared to my own magic tricks.
Pablo is so blown away by this realisation,
This new insight,
That
he completely forgets about pretending to be sick to avoid the stress of the evening performance.
Instead,
He starts to see that if the stress of the nightmare was only due to a story in his head,
Then who knows what story might unfold later on during the real performance.
Maybe this time,
While he's backstage,
He'll actually feel as safe as he really is when he's in bed.
To be sure,
Pablo asks his dad.
Dad,
Can I ask you something?
Does that mean that my nightmare is really just
a story?
Like,
Nothing but a story?
Dad,
Does that mean it's not actually a warning like it
felt like it was?
Does that mean that this evening isn't necessarily going to be a complete
disaster?
Hey dad,
Does that mean I don't actually have to stay home sick?
Pablo says with a smile.
Paul grins at his son.
Yes,
Pablo,
Your dream is indeed a story.
It's just the story of last night,
Which has absolutely nothing to do with the one that will unfold tonight during the play.
Of that,
You can be absolutely certain.
Hmm,
Says Pablo,
Thinking things over.
Does that mean that even
if some of the things happened that happened in my nightmare,
I might not have exactly the
same feelings of terror and horror that I had in my nightmare because I don't want that again?
Says Pablo.
Exactly,
Laughs Paul.
Exactly.
Paul and Pablo have discovered this hidden mechanism of fear that lurks behind the scenes.
They have begun to see fear for what it really is.
A feeling that accompanies the scary stories
that we tell ourselves inside our heads and not an indicator of external danger.
