Well, first of all, before you do any reflection, it's important to note the fear and see how it feels within ourselves, so that we can understand that it's suffering, and how if we hang on to the fear, we will suffer, whether the event happens or not. And it may never happen. So hanging on to the fear, and projecting into the future, is going to cause us to suffer in the present; which is the only moment we are assured of. So the first thing to do is to note the fear, and to see how it feels within ourselves, in order to bring up compassion for ourselves.
Rather than thinking of impermanence at that time, we can focus on Dukkha. Because, sure, every form of Dukkha is impermanent, but if we are jumping straight to impermanence it's more of a rejection of Dukkha that is happening at that moment.
Now how great is our capacity to open to Dukkha, and how great is our capacity to understand that we are impermanent? Because often when we are focusing on Dukkha, we are focusing on the Dukkha that's arising for us, rather than focusing on the fact that we are impermanent, and that nothing in this world is absolutely secure, as many people in the World Trade Centre learned. Even though they may have thought that they were quite safe in a big skyscraper, with all these security measures, they were not safe from impermanence, the impermanence of themselves.
So can we actually open to Dukkha, and this insecurity within ourselves, that gets us grasping to find this worldly security that may not be? That does not mean that we don't take precautions to protect ourselves and the precious human life. We do this, but unwise fear is not useful. Unwise fear is something that prevents us from living our human life to the fullest, the time that we do have, and opening to the one refuge that is truly secure, that is, the Triple Gem within us. Instead of grasping to find this security externally, and to make ourselves feel secure, we have to redirect the energy inward to the inner security, and be ready to die whenever. That's difficult, but it's much more difficult if we are hanging on to this idea that we can make ourselves secure and permanent.
We have to try to understand what is permanent and what is impermanent. What is permanent? What is secure in this world? Instead of looking towards the future so much, we have to look to the present and the past in order to understand the strength we do possess, the courage we do possess, and the capacity to be free of fear.
Perhaps explaining a dream I had once, a long time ago, may help you to understand this. This was when I was in a little hut on my own in the woods, and I was sleeping on the veranda and a dream came. I dreamt that these terrible spirits were grabbing hold of me, that they were taking me off the veranda, and that they were going to kill me. Fear arose within the dream, but in the dream I noted the fear and I thought, "I don't want to be afraid. How do I want to die?" So I started to do Compassion/Lovingkindness for these evil spirits, wishing to make the mind have a beneficial thought.
But then I realized that the intention (this was all in the dream), the intention of having Compassion/Lovingkindness for all these spirits was to make them go away. I was thinking that if I have enough compassion and lovingkindness for these spirits, they will leave me alone. Then I realized, "This isn't really unselfish." So in the dream I realized, "I have to get ready to die. They may not let me go". At that time fear arose again, "I have to get ready to die. This will not work". Then I thought, "Oh well, what do I want to think of if I'm going to die?" And at that moment I started reflecting on the Buddha and the feeling of refuge, the feeling of my human potential arose. A bright light arose in the dream, and suddenly it was all peaceful, and then all the spirits disappeared, and I realized the power of inner refuge at that time.
I had to be ready to die and be able to reach for the true refuge that is within, because searching, searching, searching for a place that is going to be secure is impossible in this world.
Many years ago, there were many people having a nice time in an apartment building in Holland, and then a plane crashed into the apartment building, killing a lot of people. They likely had thought they were quite secure in that apartment building in Holland, probably just enjoying the day. And they probably woke up that morning thinking that they were going to be alive that night, and see the next day.
But what is assured of us in this life? Nothing is assured, except death. So rather than seeking for security externally, can we refocus within to find that inner strength. Then when fear arises, as it will until we're fully enlightened, we can transform it. Instead of seeking in the future and trying to somehow manipulate the experience so that we won't be impermanent, we can instead look within to our true inner refuge. As I said that doesn't mean that we do not try to be wise and try to prevent harmful things from arising, because we understand how precious our human life is. But the human life is only precious, really, if we keep to our inner journey. Otherwise, at that moment when we need our inner refuge, it won't be there.