“What do you fear, lady?” Aragorn asked.
“A cage,” Éowyn said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”
~ J.R.R. Tolkein, The Return of the King
What do you fear, my dear friend? What shadows lurk in the corners of your mind, shadows that bind your actions, pull apart your dreams and lay to waste your hopes and joy?
Fear of Rejection?
Fear of Failure?
Fear of Ridicule?
Fear of Being Judged?
Fear of Being in Pain?
Fear of Being Discovered a Fraud?
Fear of being Unworthy?
Fear of being Overworked?
Fear if Being Undiscovered?
Fear of Wasting your Life’s Purpose?
Fear of Not Being Loved?
What if I had a Magic Wand, ( and let’s say I do- because in truth I do. And so do all of you.) and I could wave that wand, and for one glorious twenty-four hours today, I could obliterate your fear. Simply wipe it away and leave you fearless, polished down to your very core essence of being.
Do you know what would be left?
Love.
Nothing more, nothing less, and everything that love is.
All of it’s infinite possibilities. Which means, that being rendered fearless, you could do anything. Choose to be, feel and do anything.
What would you do? Who would you be? How would you feel?
This morning in my quiet time, a question came to me in a whisper, if you had no fear, what would you do?
The answer surprised me, because I had no idea I would give that answer until it fell from my mind.
If I had no fear… I’d be dancing.
It didn’t take long to understand it. I have lived with chronic back pain for several decades and have had to live above that pain on a daily basis. Apparently, I have been living with a hidden fear of pain. Makes sense. But it has also created a great deal of avoidance behavior when it comes to movement , exercise and freedom. Something that I have become more awake to and am working on.
Now that I am awakened to my fear of pain, I can work to rise above it. I can choose healing over pain. I can choose love over fear. I can choose to believe that I can do more than I think and that I am not limited by old belief systems. They were put in my mind to protect me from an injury that I am now stronger and healthier and more able to manage now. Perhaps my fear has served its time and is no longer necessary. Perhaps I can be open to the idea of thanking it for its service and allowing it to retire now.
Perhaps I can choose to be healthy and pain-free. Perhaps I can go dancing.
THE LIVING FEARLESSLY EXERCISE.
Answer these questions without thinking too hard about the answers.
If you weren’t afraid, what would you do differently today?
Would you make a big change? A small little shift? Would you speak up? Tell the truth? Take a chance? Be brave? Step up, step out?
Ask for what you want?
If you were fearless today, how would you feel?
Would you feel bold? Peaceful? Calm? Content? Wide-awake and alive? Energetic, vibrant, inspired?
If for today, you made it a point to choose Love over Fear… what would your day look like?
If you do… will you come back and share with us what it was like to have a fearless, loving day? Even if it was ten minutes, an hour, or awhile. Please share.
Be Fearless.
