Are you feeling fear lately? If you are, you are in very good company because fear is all around us. Fear is being fostered by television, by the movies, by newspapers, by blog posts and even Twitter tweets. It’s everywhere, from stories about natural disasters, to financial collapse, to family violence and divorce. And you become attuned to it. It becomes so much a part of your environment that you almost forget about it. Almost.
But it becomes a silent partner. The kind of friend you feel uncomfortable around, but you keep going to see anyway, because, hey, you’ve known each other a long time. It’s like a blanket that you thought was warm, but really it is prickly, only you can’t feel the prickles anymore. They so familiar you don’t even notice that they are there. Well, almost.
And then you realize you can’t seem to move forward even though you want to. When you try to imagine life feeling freer it’s like you’re looking at an empty screen and no images come, much less the actual feeling. Because feelings, emotions, aren’t very easy to feel when there’s fear. Because in order to manage, in order to do what you need to do every day, you have to function. And fear freezes. So you choose not to feel, rather than feel the fear. It makes you stiff. And it doesn’t go away ~ it just goes deeper, hidden. Except, not really.
And when you do try something new, when you make a move, there it is. Suddenly it’s there, the energy rises, you hit the inner barrier that says: “warning, go back, at least you know what this place is like–you don’t know what you might face out there.”
Take a breath. A deep breath, and then another. Feel the fear and breathe. Because the fear gets its strength from hiding below the surface, being your quiet, ever present, uncomfortable, but familiar friend. Breathe and let yourself actually feel the fear. Look around you. Is there actual danger in your physical vicinity? Breathe and feel the fear and welcome it. Because being afraid of the fear is much worse than the fear itself. B R E A T H E . . .
{ 0 comments… add one now }