Have you ever noticed how those days you were particularly worried about or afraid of, often turn out not to be as bad as anticipated?
Something steps in.
I often have this experience. The night before a particularly heavy day I can toss and turn, envisaging each item on the next day’s agenda. I try to think it through, anticipating what could go wrong and how to avert it, my mind trying to tame every possible instant of the following day.
And then the next day comes and it all goes well.
Even more than that, suddenly I find myself peacefully sipping tea, having extra time in what I thought would be an exceedingly demanding day. I think that noticing these experiences and remembering them helps us to see what a brutalising force fear can be. If we let it, fear can take so much from us. It can steal our biggest dreams.
Life is so much more benevolent than we think it to be. And I am convinced that we can will this benevolence into existence, by answering challenges and courageously walking towards them, past the gates of fear.
Every time I worry, I try to remember all those moments in which I walked through fear and ended up flying.
How we can deal with fear is the underlying theme of my upcoming workshops and a core aspect of my work.
In the words of Apollinaire:
Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It’s too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came
And he pushed
And they flew.
With love, Irene
