Some Fear Is Healthy

A favorite quote of mine from the book, The Wind Is My Mother by Bear Heart.

From page 119, "Some fear is healthy because it makes you cautious.  But when  you're overly afraid of something, you're going to attract that very thing."

Fear is there for a reason.  If we are wise, we will observe and listen to fear to see what it is telling us.  Just like a road sign warning us of something on the road, fear is a road sign for our life, helping us navigate more clearly.  For best results in life, we should not strive to avoid fear, but to embrace it.  For when we embrace it, we will hear its message and reclaim any power we have given over to it.

Embrace and Discover Possibility

Each new day has a beginning and that is the point where possibility exists.  It is up to us to carry the ball forward, or let the ball lie on the ground.  Either way, we are in charge of what we do with possibility in our life.

All too often we wonder why the ball is still lying on the ground, but we fail to see that we are just staring at it.  The ball will not move unless we pick it up and move it.  It will not change its place, unless we initiate that change.

In life, possibility only happens when we take the initiative to take the necessary steps that we need to take.  Standing back and waiting for everything to happen will get us no further to our goal, than wishing we can sustain ourselves without food.

Embrace possibility.  Embrace taking one step after another.  Discover possibility.

Opportunity To Embrace Fear

So if we feel we really have to embrace the fear that we make mistakes in life, why not try turning the tables on the thought process for a moment.  If we see mistakes as an opportunity toward greater awareness or insight, then the person who makes many mistakes has many opportunities in life.  Just imagine having all those opportunities.  Hope And Possibility Through Trauma by Don Shetterly (Pg 137)

Embrace Life To Fully Live

If we don't take a long hard look at our current moment, than we will more than likely repeat the past moments.

All too often, we spend so much energy in our life running from life, that we fail to live.  We numb ourselves and we escape from life, only to find that it has robbed us of the energy we need.

May we learn to embrace our life and fully live, rather than hoping that some day it might get better. - Don Shetterly

Fear is Real

Fear is a real part of our life. In many ways, if we learn how to embrace the fears that are present in our everyday life, we can bring about tremendous growth and awareness for our self. For all too long in my life, fear ruled my every moment and I ran from things that were more of an illusion than a reality. As I learn to embrace that which comes from the struggle within me, I become more conscious and aware of all that I can be.

In our world, fear is alive and well. So many people have been wounded in life by various events and these events are holding an illusion over them that fear is the norm. We see it by what is shown on TV and talked about in the news. The pundits and talk show hosts enlarge the concept of fear to draw people into their shows, thus improving ratings and advertiser dollars.

We also see fear as being a strong motivator behind the ego of politics, power and control. If each of us would stop and open our eyes for just a moment, we would be shocked at what is truly going on. However, with the mass of our population living in fear, it is hard to identify how are minds are filtering out that which is before us.

Fear even shows up in our every day life when it comes to the way we deal with others and the way we care for our children. Even our body pains and the way we take care of ourselves physically are so engulfed in the foundation of fear. Health care is more about running from or trying to mask the pain (get rid of the pain or condition) than it is about going into fear and reclaiming that which is within us. Yet, we as a society are so locked into the power of fear that we struggle to even believe this is a remote possibility.

Our lives are touched in many ways by fear and the more we succumb to its power, the more we are holding ourselves back from finding our true potential. Society and civilization require each of us to step up and become all that we were meant to be but the more we walk hand in hand with fear, the more we bring darkness to all those we meet.

My attempt of writing about fear isn't to bring about more fear within each of us. It is instead a way for me to help others understand just how prevalent fear is in our lives and the power it holds over us. I have fought all my life to overcome so many fears I grew up with that I realize first hand just how difficult it is to not let fear rule my life. My hope is that everyone I meet will begin to understand a little more just how fear has a hold of our species and will work to begin recognizing it. Fear can be a powerful motivating agent of change in our lives or it can take us down. May we have the courage to open our eyes and see fear for what it truly is in our life and in the world.

Fear is...

• Being afraid of the unknown
• Something that feels real but may not be
• Expectation that something around you is bad
• Not being fully aware of what reality truly is
• the absence of fact that can be proved
• Illusion of reality
• Escape from that which we feel and know
• Larger than life
• When we find ourselves lacking in self confidence
• Arises from our wounded self
• Ignorance
• Following the masses
• Unjustified but seemingly real situations
• Distortion of what is truly present
• Seeing an image that is a twisting of the facts
• Facts that do not add up while logic is thrown aside
• Listening to the illusion of what others say
• Not following your own convictions
• Not being connected to your own body
• Being unable to recognize when it is present
• closing the door to truth and knowledge
• Not being open to awareness and growth
• Thinking that you have all the answers

(c) 11/12/10 by Don Shetterly - Use by permission only

Accepting, Allowing, Embracing Our Life

So many things in life don't matter as much as we think they do. In the grand scheme of our day, they are but tiny dots on a time line of our life. We always tend to mold them and make them into the image we feel like we can live with. The only thing is that sometimes we miss the important stuff floating by us.

Life is about accepting all of it which includes the parts that may be difficult. In the moment of acceptance, we unite with all that is possible for our lives. To only allow part of these things into our lives makes us unstable and off balance. We need to embrace the two opposites in order to find our center.

Fighting these parts of us may be our journey of discovery, but it is not who we are. It takes precious energy and strength to constantly swim upstream or be on guard against all that is around us. Let us not discount the importance of these struggling moments, for they act as runway lights depicting our path ahead.

Learning how to allow and embrace all parts of ourselves, no matter how ugly they may appear, will bring us wholeness to our life. It will provide us with a sense of calmness and stability. It will help us discover our path ahead and bring answers to the questions we face. Our biggest concern should be, are we ready to allow ourselves to travel into the unknown and past the fear, so we will readily see the illumination in front of us?