kimjungho:

“Our fears create a contracted and false sense of self.  This false or ‘small’ self grasps our limited body, feelings, and thoughts, and tries to hold and protect them.  From this limited sense of self arises a deficiency and need, defensive anger, and the barriers we build for out protection.  We are afraid to open, to change, to live fully, to feel the whole of life; a contracted identification with this ‘body of fear’ becomes our habit.”

-Jack Kornfield