What would you do if fear WAS an option?
I have spent February celebrating my 50th birthday! Yes, I have been celebrating all month! LOL! What a gift it has been! The love that I have received from family and friends brought me so much joy.
My hubby made it extra special with one surprise after another; starting with tickets to Hamilton and being in the city for the first time since the pandemic hit! A surprise birthday dinner and video of birthday wishes -cue the tears- made my heart full. And the night ended with a surprise family zoom. Hubby gets major points. I am truly a lucky lady – or should I say he’s the lucky one! LOL!!
Being Open To Receive
As I reflected on my birthday, I thought of my dear friend, who said to me that I look like I am at peace, glowing and comfortable in my skin. I sat back thinking about her words and it dawned on me that yeah, I am truly at a chapter in my life where I am finally coming into my own.
But most importantly, I have found myself fully stepping into receiving all the love, joy and happiness. In the past, I wouldn’t have wanted others to fuss over my birthday. Maybe it’s gaining age and wisdom. Maybe it’s the pandemic and seeing the fragility of life but the past couple of years I have been more open to not only celebrating my birthday, but celebrating all month long. ! Heck, I might be celebrating 50 all year! I can thank the amazing Jen Legra for teaching me how to truly embrace the fun and celebrate all month.
My heart and mind have arrived to the sweet journey of being open to receiving all the love and goodness coming my way. And once I found myself fully open to receiving, abundance flowed in ways I never thought possible. This made me think of the connection between being open to receiving and embracing fear.
FEAR – That Four Letter Word
I have been working through the fear of showing up and putting my writing out into the world. So many starts. So many stops. The days come and go. Sometimes I write. Sometimes I don’t. Life often gets in the way. Fear brings out Doubting Debbie and keeps me trapped in my comfort zone.
But I also realized this fire in my belly has been stirring in me for some time to follow my dream – as crazy as it might sound- and to break through the comfort of life. This recurring dream is now becoming a vision morphing into reality.
I remember getting to a point in life and asking: why does life have to happen in one way?: We go from being kids, grow up, go to college or work, get married, work, have a baby, work some more, have another baby, keep working some more, maybe have another baby, work some more, and keep working while we wait for retirement. Never fully living the life of exploring our dreams and staying safe in the fear club.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my life and am grateful for it, but I always wondered what would happen if I lived life outside the box? What if I decided to unsubscribe to the status-quo? And what if I decided to fully embrace fear and pursue becoming a writer and published author?
The Fear Party
I started to think about that four letter word over and over again. FEAR. That word with just four little letters in it. That’s it. Just four simple letters. Two consonants and two vowels – at least it’s balanced- but has so much power over us. Why does FEAR enter into our lives fully dictating every step and direction?
It’s like FEAR decides to make its presence known, creeps into our minds while we sleep and takes over our bodies?? Hi, I am FEAR and I am here to show up for you and do as much damage as I can.
Welcome to the FEAR party. And then, just like that, we join the FEAR party! We join the FEAR party, not really knowing how we got invited, and we party along because the party seems like it’s so much fun and everyone else is doing it too and so it must be okay.
What we don’t realize is that we don’t have to join or attend every party we are invited to. Sometimes, we need to take stock and inventory to ask ourselves, is this the kind of party we want in life?
What if you created your own party? And what if your party was about fully embracing fear the same way you are open to receiving? And what if this party was more about what would you do if fear WAS an option rather than what would you do if fear WAS NOT an option?
When you allow yourself to receive, an abundance of possibilities becomes available to you. And this is the same way embracing fear works. Embracing fear allows the beauty of the unknown to unfold, becoming one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
Imagine the gift of what you would do if fear WAS an option?
Embrace Faer
See, when you open yourself to embracing fear, you allow yourself to fully receive all that is available for you. So many times you think running away from or fighting fear is the answer. When you go against the resistance, more resistance comes your way. But if you step into embracing fear, the abundant ocean of receiving flows right into your space.
It’s really that simple, but we often make it more difficult than we need it to be. The fear will always be there. The fear will often show up. Embrace fear. Sit with fear. Walk with fear. Dance with fear.
Sometimes it might be the two step. Sometimes it might be twirls and spins. And other times it will be pirouettes, leaps and jumps. But whatever you do, just keep dancing with fear.
I would love to hear your thoughts on what you would do if fear WAS an option. . Leave a comment below or send me a DM via Instagram. I would love to hear from you!
I created a choose courage daily journal to help along your journey and help you discover how brave you can really be. You can purchase it on Amazon.
Love and Courage,
Mo