We all have fear at some point. It is part of being human. There are two types of fear: real fear (the fight or flight kind) and psychological fear (ego driven – the voice in our head kind).
The real truth about our ego driven fear is that it is False Evidence Appearing Real. It represents thought that is made up by us, yet appears so real when we are caught up in the grip of it. It is a lie that tells us it is real!
When we allow these fears to be and don’t feed them, they will dissipate and more neutral thoughts will come. Last summer, I was at a professional conference in Minneapolis. On the last day, one of the previous well-seasoned speakers was given the honor of presenting a very meaningful speech to close out the conference. He isn’t necessarily a charismatic speaker yet is wonderful at getting to the heart of things and telling stories by being genuine and authentic. As he approached the stage, he simply said to the audience “I am a little nervous right now. I know it will go away”. It did, and he went on to do a wonderful talk. I actually listened again to the conference recording of him just recently, and that is not exactly what he said, but that is what I heard that day at a deeper level.
There was something about that moment for me. This accomplished speaker was embracing his humanness. He totally allowed himself to be vulnerable in expressing his fear – not justifying it, trying to explain it, or figure it out. He was simply being honest with his audience. Sure enough, his fear went away, and he gave a profound speech. It was so real and freeing for me.
When we allow our fears or any other negative emotions to settle down without more thinking about them, we are not resisting or trying to control. We are allowing them to pass naturally on their own. At times, we may be so caught up in the fear that we need to just be human and acknowledge them to ourselves or others without any explanation. Resisting or controlling any emotion just puts more thought in our heads. And more thought takes us away from ourselves. After all, when we are in the present moment, we are not thinking; our head is clear.
This is a small step towards more freedom. And freedom is what we are all after whether we consciously realize it or not. Freedom to be who we really are, not bound by our untrue thoughts.
Cheers and Love to you!
JoAnne