When we feel anxious or afraid,
Worried or scared or all of these,
Our emotions are based on fear.
We are fearful of feeling those emotions.
We don't like those emotions.
We don't like what anxiety brings us,
How it makes our body feel different and off balance and uncomfortable.
We never want to feel afraid and how it makes us feel on edge.
We hate that feeling.
We hate feeling scared and time worrying is exhausting and draining.
And so we fear feeling that way.
And all of these emotions are based upon fears rather than beliefs.
Our minds like to look for factual evidence as a solution to a problem.
What is the real outcome going to be?
And when we can't find that solution and don't accept that life comes with ups and downs,
Ebbs and flows and changes,
We experience fear in different shapes and forms.
Now we can spend a thousand years trying to stop feeling fearful and worrisome and anxious and afraid.
However,
Have you ever managed it?
Has it ever gone by trying to get rid of it and stop it?
Have you ever run fast enough to lose fear yet?
Fear is a part of us as humans and when it feels more present within us,
Then we wish we could remove it.
So we stop doing the things in life that perhaps once upon a time we enjoyed.
Because doing those things gives us such a feeling of disjointedness and unease because our memory kicks in and reminds us that last time we did it,
We didn't feel good.
And so fear stands up in attempt to save the day.
And our world can become smaller and smaller as we begin to fear more and more.
Avoidance becomes the tactic of our anxious world and fearsome thoughts,
Yet our problem only seems to grow and get stronger and stronger.
The little voice within us encouraging us to stop encountering these scary situations gets louder and louder and we listen more and more and become more fearful and more anxious and more worried.
What have you thought about fear in a different way?
What if you knew that it was potentially a part of you forever and that you had to take it along for the ride but that it didn't have to feel this way?
What if you began to see fear as,
I guess like a person who always hangs around,
They're okay.
They don't always make you feel great when you talk for ages together but they're here to stay.
Once you stop running away you will see that fear is just afraid itself and it genuinely was trying to protect you.
But somewhere along the line it went wrong.
What if you said,
Okay you can come along for the journey but you're not driving,
You're not in charge here.
I am.
And you need to be quiet for this time.
And sometimes you will need to remind it who's in charge but you can do that because the realisation that fear will be present at some level enables you to feel more in control because you begin to understand it and it gives you an opportunity to take charge of it.
You see if there's nothing you can do about it,
You have to change the way you think about it.
So see it now.
Visualise the fear as something you just have to carry around.
Perhaps it's in a bag or on one of your shoulders.
What does it look like?
Notice it's colour or form but as you look closer and notice that it's not as bad as what you thought it was going to be.
It's not hard or sharp or even really that scary.
See it's soft and gentle and scared itself.
After all it's been trying to protect you,
Maybe for years and it's tired and worn down.
It's sharp edges have smoothed out,
Been worn down.
And it was young when it started.
It didn't really know what it was doing.
It simply threw itself into a world of unknown and then just didn't know when to stop.
It too became lost and confused and couldn't work out how or why it wasn't working.
And it has also got to the point where it needs to stop and relax and be cared for by you.
Because you know best and it's time for you to take charge of the matter.
Put fear in the back seat while you sit in the driving seat now.
And sometimes you'll engage with it,
Ask its opinion,
See what it thinks and then with time and practice it will fade into the background and you will shine brighter.
You will feel the joy of life more in control and the fear will enjoy the back seat too.
Watching you enjoy the ride of your life.
It can be a better way.
It can be a better life for you.
Sometimes we just have to turn our thoughts around and realize that sometimes things are here to stay with us.
As much as we don't want them to be,
They are.
But there is always a different way of looking at things.
A new way of feeling or being.
Different ideas as to how you can heal and feel better and brighter and more in control.
Remember that you are in charge and you are so much stronger than you think you are.
You are enough.
You are worthy.
And this is your life and your life only.
Namaste.
