"One had to take some action against fear when once it laid hold of one"

Rainer Maria Rilke writes about the inevitability and power of fear, highlighting it as a universal human experience that can take control unexpectedly and leave one feeling immobilized. Fear, in Rilke’s view, is not something one can reason away or simply ignore; it requires active intervention. The urgency in the phrase “when once it laid hold of one” conveys how fear often arrives suddenly, overtaking reason and serenity. It does not ask permission and rarely makes its presence known gradually, instead it seizes the heart and mind, demanding immediate attention.

Faced with this kind of all-encompassing emotion, passivity is not an option. Without conscious and deliberate action, fear can become a tyrant, diminishing the capacity to think, create, and live fully. Rilke seems to suggest that taking action is both a defense and a necessity. To combat fear, one must step forward, however haltingly, in defiance of its paralyzing grip. This action need not be grand; sometimes, it could mean reaching out for help, focusing on a routine, or simply acknowledging the fear out loud.

The insistence on “some action” hints at the diversity of responses available to human beings. There is no single remedy for overcoming fear, but rather an obligation to resist being overwhelmed by it. By acting, no matter the scale, one creates a space for courage to take hold, for clarity to emerge, and for movement to resume. It is not the absence of fear that leads to growth and progress, but the willingness to engage with it, to do something, however small, in its presence. Ultimately, Rilke points to personal agency: we cannot always choose what we feel, but we can choose our response, and in that lies our reclamation of self from fear’s control.