Love – the answer to fear
“Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.”
This has been a crazy week – as the news has spread regarding the coronavirus and groups have closed schools, cancelled events and movie stars have reported positive testing – I have watched the fear grow – including but not limited to the TOILET PAPER SHORTAGE.
There are many ways fear appears – sometimes it shows up as anger or frustration- sometimes as criticism or disdain – other times as paralysis about decisions or choices. It has many faces – but all with the same qualities as mentioned in the quote above. It is hard to have fear in this moment – it is because we go back in time or ahead to an unknown future that we experience fear. The last few blogs have been about getting a new view…looking from a different perspective in order to see how easy it is to shift. Similarly, we can shift more easily away from fear than we realize. It is all about where we put our attention, or energy. And then there is the absolute tonic which I will get to at the end. You can see this so easily – I used to tell this story in one of my workshops….
I would be in one of those heated discussions with my husband – on full tilt on whatever our issue was – and then the phone would ring. One particular day it was my good friend Julie, and I immediately went from high level tickedoffness to laughing and joking with her about something else. Pure joy at talking to a good friend – and then when I hung up I went back to my discussion. ☹ When I watched it all in slow motion – I noticed that as I shifted my attention – so shifted my emotion. I encourage you to try this during this next week. Watching is not suppressing – so it is important to acknowledge we feel fear (but we are NOT fear)..and then bring our attention back to this moment. If you watch closely you can see yourself coming back from the brink – It can look like distraction – which we also use to counter fear – but in truth it is way more powerful than distracting ourselves to notice we are not our fears and all fear is time bound and not in this very moment.
I study a spiritual text that explains that there are only two states – Fear or Love and by that I mean LOVE as a state of mind – not the emotion of love you might conjure up during a romantic movie or a new puppy (although both are great incentives to the State of Love). A state of mind centered in Love cannot experience fear. And here is the good news – Love is natural – Love is always with us – Love is who we are. The energetic state of Love can be evoked by simply shifting our attention and our energy in that direction.
I started writing this blog this year because we have as a culture, been in fear and uncertainty for some time now. And yet, right within us, closer than our juggler vein, is this Love reaching through and past our difficulties both personal and global.
So this week – just know that all is well in that state and intentionally direct your focus that way and watch that compass bring you home.
