Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Fear

Is fear a gift or a curse? Or some of both?

More and more I see everything in the world like an electrical system... everything and everyone and every action is either positive, negative, or neutral. And let me clarify, negative does not equal bad or evil. I think of it in mathematical terms, 0 is the middle and +1 means movement in one direction and -1 means movement in another direction.

Today I notice I'm feeling afraid. I've worked through many kinds of fear in the past and found that fear can be a huge gift. Fear can be the guardian at the gate of the most sacred temple. Fear can be the building energy on the way to a major break through. Fear can even be a sacred rhythm, providing me with timing to ensure that I don't move too quickly.

Or fear can be debilitating. Fear can drive us to violence, control, and hatred. I believe that every war the planet has seen has its roots in "fear of the other". When we are not elevated enough to understand that we are all connected, we feel disconnected. When we're disconnected our emotions can run away with us. When we are not conscious of our unity, we notice that something is missing. We interpret this sense of lacking as fear that we will not have enough food, shelter, love, etc. This fear justifies competition and conflict and enables our "survival of the fittest" drive.

Thankfully today I've also had some insight about my present fear. I feel like I've been honored with the opportunity to serve Gaia (God, The Great Spirit, the Universe, Love, or whatever name you're most comfortable with) but I fear that I cannot do it alone. Even as I become able to name it I realize that I'm most certainly not alone. And so, I can now accept this fear as the gift of being guided to ask for help. I am blessed with many friends and a wonderful family. As I ask for help the fear dissipates. How blessed are we to have fear as a guide!

2 comments:

  1. I like this article. I, myself, see two forces at work in the universe Love and Fear and fear is often the lack of, or separation from, Love. Fear can have its uses, no doubt but unfortunately the human ego does not seem strong enough to control fear and ends up being controlled.Tread carefully when dealing with fear open the flood gates when working in harmony with Love.

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  2. Thanks, Steve! I love the image of "opening the flood gates when working in harmony with love!"

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