Gazing in the Mirror

December 29 - Fear and Acceptance

You gain strength, courage,
and confidence by every
experience in which you
really stop to look fear in
the face. You must do the
thing which you think you
cannot do.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

... deep within us burns the
fire of Eternity, deep within
us is the Life of the living
Spirit, then there is nothing
to be afraid of.
~ Ernest Holmes

Last night we watched the 1964 movie "7 Days in May" with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. As often happens to me after watching such emotionally charged political contemplations I tend to be a bit worked up about the state of things (currently the NSA and the financial powers that be) and how much it has or has not changed regardless of the kinds of changes. After ranting a bit to my husband it really got through to me – life is uncertain, life is fragile. I could more easily be killed in a car accident than by a drone strike. It is unlikely that I will feel governmental coercion beyond taxation. Not long ago my husband came close to losing his life to a loose tree top falling onto his tractor's steering wheel. This is the truth and the way of it. Why be anxious ? Why expend energy being fearful about stuff one can't really do anything significant about anyway ?

Actually that thought about "coping and adapting" has been developing and re-developing in me for the last few months – perhaps. This defines my current strategy for dealing with so much about this world that I live in that I don't personally like very much. In a world of so much dangerous uncertainty, how does a human being continue on ? My realistic mantra has become that I will simply adapt and continue on regardless. As I was searching the internet for quotations about resolving the human tendency to be fearful, I came across a blog about that purported to offer "13 Unusually Brilliant Quotes on Overcoming Fear + One Undeniable Reason WHY". I would have to agree that he seems to have done an awesome job of it. It seems that many thoughtful people have mulled over within themselves some of the same difficult realizations that I have.

I appreciated that thoughts of Chief Tecumseh quoted – "Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their views, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a stranger if in a lonely place. Show respect to all people, but grovel to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home."

It is a waste to have never lived and upon the ending of your life have such regrets. It is good to live a quiet and decent life so that reasons to be fearful are minimized. My father-in-law was informed much of his adult life by the murder of his brother on the doorstep of his home in front of that man's son by a disgruntled acquaintance. I never knew more about it than that but I really didn't need to. When my husband and I were involved in a local political dispute due to our involvement with the sheltered workshop for people with disabilities, my father-in-law fretted about our drawing unwelcome attention to ourselves. I understand. Sometimes it really isn't worth the battle.

Would you like to deconstruct your fear ? Then ask yourself, as Danielle Laporte suggests – "Why are you afraid ? This is where you get it out of your system: bankruptcy, unfulfilled potential, trashing your reputation, losing it all. And then (because we just can't stop there), you're going to apply some simple analysis to it. You may have nothing to fear after all." I have thought about some of these possibilities myself in the past. I have seen local people who were well-respected taken down by a one-sided presentation of some situation that accomplished a complete "trashing of their reputation" locally. I know that I have faced the inevitability of death and that I do not fear it nor do I wish to hasten its arrival.

There is actually nothing wrong with fear itself. It can be quite informative. Obsessive fear and constant anxiety are not healthy to the human body. Knowing to be aware of what is happening around me when I am alone on a dark street with few other people around me is healthy. Knowing what the coyotes are doing out in the wild after dark isn't a bad idea if I'm out hiking alone – though I've never been actually "threatened" by any wild creature and have come upon all kinds of these including coyotes up close and personal from time to time while I was totally alone and unarmed. I fear man more than I could ever possibly fear the wild creatures that I do or might encounter. I do not wish to live in fear of man either, so I accept the realistic perspective that life is risky and dangerous and uncertain and fragile – while still believing deeply that it is an enormous blessing to "be" alive.

~ perspective

I chose not to allow my fears to
limit my opportunities to live fully.
I know that the more I am able
to allow Spirit to flow freely
through me, the more full of
vibrancy my life can be lived.
I have made a choice not to live
in fearful anticipation of so many
possibilities that are unlikely to
ever affect me.
I want to fully savor my days,
open and accessible to all of the
life around me, letting my passionate
heart fly freely and my soul blossom.
I know that sometimes I have to
step into what I am afraid of actively,
in order to discover that there was
never any reason to fear at all.

#accidents #anxiety #coercion #danger #emotion #grace #murder #reality #strategy #uncertainty