Eyes bleary from the late night,
hot green tea in hand,
fluffy slippers going flip flop,
you pick up the newspaper.
“Ouch, ouch” as the back pain rears its head,
calling your attention and
the few drops of hot tea on your ankles
You read the headline of the newspaper and suddenly,
your eyes are wide open in shock as
fear cascades like a giant blue ocean wave
crashing all over your quivering tiny body
Another day, another morning,
fear has washed ashore your shore
It could be a newspaper or
it could be a Netflix series or
a stray conversation with a friend
who starts with “you know what happened…”
Fear is like a violent stranger who
we invite every day in our lives, willingly, knowingly
for it to run amok in our humdrum lives
every day
There is nothing to be feared, only to be understood
Marie Curie
Replace Fear with Compassion and curiosity
The next time you are fearful,
first, apply the salve of self-compassion
say “I understand fear is flowing through, this is my habitual pattern”
Notice how you are not saying “I am fearful”
not identifying the fear
but observing it
Next, apply a healthy serving of Curiosity
you say
“what is this fear telling me?
what is it asking me to pay attention to?”
notice how you are giving full attention to fear
not to the feeling
but to its underlying need for your attention
All growth lies outside the door called Fear
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Today,
what fear will you understand?