Parable about fear

Fear begotten by imagination sees danger even where there is no danger at all…

There is an ancient eastern parable about fear.

“A wise man met the Plague on his way and asked, ‘Where are you going?’ It answered, ‘To a big city. I have to kill five thousand people there.’ In a few days the same wise man again met the Plague. ‘You said that you’d kill five thousand people but you’ve killed all fifty thousand,’ he accused. ‘No,’ objected the Plague. ‘I’ve killed five thousand; the others died from fear.’”

From the book “Sensei” by A. Novykh