I try really hard to NOT fear anything. It is my life's purpose. Why? Because, IMO, fear is the opposite of love, the opposite of God, or the one spirit we all share. I believe it is important for me to stay connected to this source, this love, as I have seen that the times I had the least connection to spirit, are the times I have been most afraid and most in pain.
If I try to emotionally react for a second, I can conjure up a list that mostly consists of people or animals I love and am supposed to protect (my kids, dogs, etc) suffering in any way.
But it is my quest to become mindful in this life, and in charge of my emotions, not the other way around.
What I have seen fear to do me is a downward spiral....and believe me, I see it with regularity (which is why my husband won't discuss anything of importance with me late at night when I am tired.....thank you very much).
When I have let fear have it's way with me (before I acknowledged I was making that choice) I have been: angry, negative, unhappy, and of course, scared to death.....and as a result, I brought MORE of the same my way. I know, now, that nothing POSTITIVE can be created out of that negativity. It's just impossible.
So acknowledging my fears with the regularity that they come, and accepting them and then moving through them, has helped me soooo much to not let them have control....
What does that look like? I will take the very toughest of all: death. No, wait, death is not tough, really. The VERY worst, is my children suffering. I can feel that, so accutely, as any parent can, because we see it all around us on the planet and collectively, we feel that pain. How do I move through it?
First of all, I realize that it is an imagined fear, not a present occurance in the NOW. Seeing as NOW is all we have, I could just dismiss it at that. But feeling the imagined pain (for me, real for those whose children are suffering) helps me to stay connected to the spirit, and I can work with that through meditation (tunglen is perfect for this), or other type of prayer, etc. I accept that the planet is in such a place right now where these things are real for so many. I can only heal this, though, if I heal my own feelings about it...how else can I move forward toward love again? Stay feeling bad? Not particularly productive!!
And then, because the love, the spirit, God, is NOT fear, I can (and I deserve to!) reconnect with this positive, good vibe (sorry, jr. hippie talking) through my INTENTION.
HEY, it's all in my mind....so I can take it wherever I go.
I can move this into larger action by behaving in certain ways personally and by supporting political causes, etc. that speak to healing that collective wound as well.
I have a sister whose daughter really and truly was in a position of great psychological and physical suffering. And all my sister could do was heal herself and through that, show her daughter a healthy mom. (that girl is currently celebrating 7 mos. of sobriety and counts her mom's dealing with her as her model for healing herself...full circle stuff).
I am also doing what I can to teach my children how to envision themselves as creators and not victims. Unfortunately, it's the polar opposite of the programming their N dad has been working on them, so life is interesting....so far, they are creating some amazingly positive things for themselves as they work out that negativity.
