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“Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.” ~James Thurber
Let’s get real. No matter how brave or committed or well intentioned or focused or disciplined, no matter how many times we have weathered life’s downs, no matter how much we know, no matter how enlightened we think we are, at some point in the process of life change, fear and self doubt are going to feel overwhelming.
This is when my imagination goes on a rampage of fear. Fear of failure. Fear of poverty. Fear of judgment. Fear of struggle. Fear of loss. Fear of dependency. Fear of criticism. Fear of fear. Fear fear fear. That little movie projector in my mind starts projecting fears in every possible guise.
Negative imagination is like a team of runaway horses in one of those old black and white Western movies. I’m bouncing off the wagon seat, in the back of the wagon, hanging onto the wagon sides, gripped in terror and unable to even think about regaining control.
What can I do? If I let fear go, it creates what I don’t want. If I suppress it, it lurks in my unconscious, also creating what I don’t want. WTF?
Presence. The ability to witness our feelings and thoughts as simply feelings and thoughts. Presence. The capacity to own fear as equal to faith, pessimism as optimism, failure as glory. Presence. The ability to be still in the midst of the turbulence that any life change will inevitably bring.
But how do we become present when fear is on a rampage?
Erin Lanahan, health coach, has found a way and shares 5 Lessons About Being Present on Tiny Buddha:
I can see how the past keeps creating my future, and when I am conscious of this, I get to make another choice. I get to forgive the past, and embrace the now.
You see, anger, resentment, fear, jealously, envy, worry, doubt, mistrusting—these are all things that can feel very real to us at the time we are experiencing them. However, they are of the mind, and just excuses to hang on to yesterday or to live in tomorrow.
We should allow ourselves to really feel our feelings, and not avoid them, try to change them, or suppress them in any way; but some thoughts we must reject.
When my ego starts convincing me I am not attractive enough, smart enough, or good enough, I remember these are not reality. These thoughts distract me from being in the here and now.
They take me out of the present and away from reality. When I notice myself spinning out in some dramatic story in my head, I become aware that I am no longer present.
So I am learning and remembering to simply ask myself “Erin, where are your feet?”
5 Lessons about Being Present: Freedom is Where My Feet Are | Tiny Buddha
Oooh, you’re such an inspiration. I love this blog!