The past 16 months has been anything but easy for pretty much anyone not living under a rock. I have tried my best to stay away from all forms of main stream media on TV and print. I admit that I do read some stuff on social media but for the most part, I try to not get sucked into the fear vortex because I have put myself there many times in my life on my own and I certainly don't need the help of the big propaganda machine to help push me back in.
Fear has been such a recurring theme for all of us during this pandemic and it keeps morphing and changing but really no matter how its presented, it is still fear.
FEAR IS FEAR
Fear of what others will think, say or do, fear of not being good enough, fear of loss, fear of success, fear of being too much, fear of illness, fear of dying, fear of our family(friends, colleagues , neighbours), fear of being judged, fear of being controlled, fear of the dark side, fear of everything.... I don't know a soul who has never felt fear in some capacity.
The real lesson of course is learning to let go of fear. Fear exists when we relive the past and all of our mistakes. And fear lives in the future when we worry about things that have not happened yet.
Fear exists when we live in our minds all the time.
( or way too much CNN or CBC --- big eye roll )
Being anchored to the present moment, as challenging as that can be, is where fear loses its power over us.
I re-iterate, it is not easy.
Fear is habitual and often letting go of all the things we are afraid of is actually harder than if all those fears actually came to pass. Let that sink in.
We are being programmed to stay in a perpetual cycle of fear. And while I would love to blame the pandemic for all of it... let's be honest, for many of us, fear was already a big part of our lives.
I offer some simple advice to combat the past and future fears and some words to help you stay grounded to your authentic self right here in the present moment.
You weren’t born to live in fear of what others think of you
You weren’t born to exist only in your mind
You weren’t born to fit into a box that society has created for you
You weren’t born to hold back & play small
You weren’t born to live on other people’s terms
You weren't born to be limited by the fears and judgement of others
You weren’t born to be like anyone else
You weren’t born to be wishing your life away
You weren’t born to exist on life’s treadmill, feeling depleted, oppressed, in a job you hate or in a relationship that doesn’t serve you
You weren’t born to settle for less & pretend you’re happy doing what everyone else is doing
But how about if...
You were born to feel wildly full, whole & alive in your own skin
You were born to feel deeply worthy of your boldest most outrageous desires
You were born to evolve into the most alive, electric version of yourself
You were born to wake up every day feeling so full of gratitude that you landed on this planet, that it oozes out of every cell in your body
You were born to feel so anchored in your purpose that chills ripple down your spine when you take a moment to breathe it all in
You were born to be you... in your unfiltered way.
For this moment, I have chosen to not be afraid to share my writing. For me, sharing my passion for writing has been hard because of my fear of being judged.
My parents and a few other loved ones told me I could never make a career of writing so why bother? I feared the judgement of those reading my writings, what if they hated everything that I put into words? I still fear success. I am afraid of going full tilt and finishing my novel and several other pieces I am working on. I am afraid that my words will die with me and never see the light of day. And THAT is my biggest fear.
It is hard to share my fears but I know I am not alone; and in fact if the past 16 months have shown anything--- its that all of us are living in some kind of fear.
I was born to write. I know that in my deepest corners. And through this blog I am learning to let go of the past and future fears about my writing-- and just stay in this moment-- being me in all my messy and unfiltered life.
I am here to feel alive because living our lives in fear is not living at all. And that might be the real lesson of the past 16 months.
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