With Fear Comes the Door to Freedom

This post is part of The Awakened Heart Project

Week 6: With Fear Comes the Door to Freedom

“A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

With Fear Comes Freedom

You can’t always physically see it, but everything in this world is constantly changing.  Moment to moment, change is among us. Some of us embrace change, and choose to move toward unfamiliar grounds, while others try desperately to hold onto to familiarity, -to comfort.

It’s been said:

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”

― Franklin D. Roosevelt

Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard it a million times over. But think of it this way: Fear works like interfear; it freezes us and keeps us from moving forward with life. And if we can’t move forward (or sideways) we can’t get to where we need to go, where we need to be, and who we need to be. Forget about following your dreams and soaring throw your life; you’re stuck! However, when you can let go of fear, the weight of that ice, frozen to you, holding you down, will melt away creating a flowing river to carry you to what you really want and really need in life.

This brings me to a story…

(Adapted from “How to Be Happy Dammit: A Cynic’s Guide to Spiritual Happiness”)

If you could only see that the place you fear most, is your way out…

We often need to be “at the end of our rope” before attempting to walk in the direction of our fears. Towards the unknown, -towards change! Often, we are literately at our break points before even realizing change is an option or worse yet, necessary. Too frequently, fear stops us from going where we need to go in life. Fear, interfears with our ability to embrace change, and to embrace life.

No doubt, change is scary. But what if, it was your path to freedom? Whether you’re able to see it just yet or not, going in the direction of fear is your path to freedom and growth.

“Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.”

–Dan Brown

Reflection:

• What is it that makes one person fearful of the unknown, and the other excited? There is no correct answer, but reflect on this question and try and figure out your beliefs about it. Afterwards, do you understand why you either embrace fear or run from it?

• If you weren’t afraid, what would you want to do most in the world?

• How might your life have been different if you weren’t afraid to do “that thing” that you wanted to do

• How might you life have been different if you took every risk that was ever presented to you?

• Do you feel fulfilled in your life? If not, may it be because you’re living in the familiar?

• Is your fear truly a fear of change, or a fear of failure?

• What benefits are there to going in the direction of your fears?

*Many of the ideas for the awakened heart project come from the book “How to Be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic’s Guide to Spiritual Happiness” by Karen Salmansohn

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