Letting Go of Fear

LUMIX FZ1000 f4.0 @ 1/125 ISO 250

It's Sunday morning, and I'm especially off-track, but with a topic so many of us can identify with. I woke up to another day of storms in Florida and the first tropical storm warning of the season. That got me thinking about the fear the media keeps creating and in turn how we all deal with anxiety in general.

Well, it's a Melody Beattie morning, and ironically she wrote about fear for today, May 27. If you want to read the whole meditation, you'll have to buy the book since I've only selected a couple of paragraphs.

It's time to stop punishing ourselves. Time to stop beating ourselves over the head with fear.

This is the scenario. A fear enters our mind. Our mind takes it and runs with it. Something bad is going to happen. Something terrible and traumatic is on the way. We quickly review the traumas of our past and make the determination. Yes, it is very possible that this devastating event will happen.

So we sit crouched in the present moment full of fear and dread. We worry the worst that could possibly happen, probably will. We begin to believe that it is most likely waiting at our doorstep, ready to pounce on us and steal our joy, our peace, our place and rhythm in the universe.

She expanded the concept more and then closed with:

Recognize and acknowledge your fear. Then release it. Let go of the energy. Stop punishing yourself. While life's seasons may not always be fair, they are trustworthy. And within each day, each moment of each season, there is a way of peace and joy.  Do not allow fear of what if to ruin the joy of what is.

And here's my point this morning.
 
An old friend from Peru, Mario Fernandez was here last night. I haven't seen Mario in over twenty years, going back to his days as owner/publisher of Foto Imagen magazine, then based out of Miami. It was a great visit as both of us wandered up and down Memory Lane and our ever-changing lives and careers. Over and again we shared stories of events, projects, accomplishments and adventures that never would have happened had we given into fear and not taken a risk here and there.
   
​Well, I'm a year older today, and with each birthday I find myself reflecting on how much my life keeps changing. Don't let fear slow you down. Appreciate that gut feeling you get, respect it, but don't let it drown you in a sea of regrets. Embrace change, embrace those new opportunities that come into your life, and most of all remember, if it weren't for change there'd be no butterflies!

Wishing everybody a beautiful Sunday, or Monday if you're on the other side of the world. Make it a day without fear and as Melody Beattie wrote, don't let anything ruin the joy of what is - this moment right now. Always go for those eleven-second hugs with the people most special in your life and appreciate the simplicity and the deafening silence of peace.

Happy Sunday everybody!