The growth of the scattered poisonous seeds of trauma from childhood were used to create the first layer of the foundation of fear. Fear had pinned me behind the walls it had built on that foundation so early in life that I grew into adulthood believing there was nothing more to life than what I had already seen. I believe most folks never look over the walls. It is why there are only a few who have walked this earth with such a strong influence that they left an impact for hundreds and even thousands of years later. They were the handful of those willing to throw themselves at destiny. They would not let their past experiences become their identity or let fear of failure stop them. Fear is only powerful if we succumb to it.
Fear is relentless; it does not grow weary. Fear is strengthened by layers of insecurity, unworthiness, rejection, failure, and more. The walls built on the foundation of my belief system were so high, I did not know my own potential was confined within the limits of their boundaries. I thought I was living the best life possible. I did not know I was dragging old stuff from the past around with me everywhere I went.
This is an excerpt from my own memoir “Escape from Darkness”. It seemed to appropriately sum up my thoughts as I watched a short clip of recent national news. What in the world is happening? Right or wrong, people will fight for what they believe. They will even go beyond the limits of the law to make a point. Sadly, they may even work from inside the law to fight for what they believe. However, at the end of the day – we all put our shoes on the same way. We all share the commonalities of our own personal vulnerabilities of our past. Our belief systems were formed by our environments and it is what we know…unless we dare to venture out and truly search for what we don’t know.
I have several earthquake instances of awakening in my journey which I now lovingly refer to as “aha” moments. My willingness to explore the perspectives outside of my own prison of deceit opened up a whole new world that brought many opportunities with it. I may have never bumped into those opportunities or new relationships had I not been willing to explore some uncharted territory. My point is this: Ultimately, FEAR is at the root of the erratic behavior we watch on the news, see in our hometowns, and even in our own homes. Fear of the unknown and certainly fear of that which we cannot control. Fear truly is relentless and will push us beyond strength we have never even considered of ourselves.
SO the question is do we annihilate fear, learn to live with it or turn it into a driving force for the good of mankind? I believe the answer is YES to all three of these suggestions. Fear that draws its strength from our past does have to be annihilated through us facing it head on and hitting it right between the eyes with truth. We will always live with a certain element of fear because the more brave and courageous we get the more we will expand our territory of new things. We will continually face giants of resistance with each new endeavor who would like nothing more than to keep us from fulfilling purpose. Finally, when we learn we are actually much more powerful than fear – we can turn it into a positive force in our lives and use it to help our fellow man. Now that I am no longer haunted by the fear that confines and makes me afraid but instead strengthened with courage and curiosity by the fear of entering into unknown fields that hold hidden treasures of opportunity, I am able to change the landscape of my own community with gifts and talents I didn’t even know existed.
I leave you with this encouragement. Don’t be threatened by your past failures, rejections, beliefs, or insecurities. Let them be a stepping stone to your true self. Become a driving force for the good of mankind! It only takes one view of the current news to bring inspiration to present the world with a new way of thinking.
Gandhi said it this way: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him…J Have a fabulous week my friends and by all means
Enjoy the Journey – VB
