‘All we have to fear is fear itself’. Describe Douglas’ experiences which led to the making of this statement.
In this story, Douglas from his early childhood, was terrified of water and avoided it. However, when he entered his teenage, he had a desire to learn swimming. His terror of water created an obstacle in front of him.
William Douglas, for a long time remained fearful of water. This handicap deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, and swimming. He used every way he knew to overcome his fear of water, but it overpowered him. Finally, one October, he decided to engage an instructor and learn to swim. He went to a pool and practised five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor first put a belt around Douglas. A rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. The instructor held on to the end of the rope, and they went back and forth. Then, the instructor taught Douglas to put his face under water and exhale, and to raise his nose and inhale. Next, he taught Douglas how to kick in water with his legs. This is how Douglas learnt swimming step by step.
However, to ensure that he had conquered his fear of water, Douglas went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire and dived off at Triggs Island. He swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. He swam in different ways like the crawl, breast stroke, side stroke and back stroke. Only once, the terror returned to some extent when he was in the middle of the lake, but he overcame it. Yet to clear his doubt, he went up the Lake Tietan to Conrad Meadows, and camped in the high meadows by the side of Warm Lake. The next morning he dived into the lake and swam across to the other shore and back. He shouted with joy, as he had conquered his fear of water.
His terror of water and his conquest of the same gave him an insight into the meaning of life and death. He made things possible. He had experienced the fear of death as well as the sensation of dying. He felt there is peace in death. Therefore, he lived more intensely and enjoyed his life. He emerged as a stronger man.