Love and fear as Opposites

 I believe that there are two kinds of fear: healthy and unhealthy. The first can be the initial alert from the gut telling me to be aware. That’s the fear that becomes courage in the face of imminent threat.

The unhealthy fear shows itself as the “what if”s, “if only”s, and “no fair”s. It’s the embers keeping resentments burning. It keeps me small and focused on myself. Can I truly believe that my Higher Power is disinterestedly glancing at me to see what I’ll do next?  

I don’t think so. I believe that I am a a co-creator of my own life, in partnership with Spirit. When the me-centered fear shows up as greed or envy or any of the other ‘deadly sins’, I have a choice: give in to the self-limiting fears, or open up to the Power of Love, which allows me to hear what the next right action is.

It’s a daily conversation, a leaning in to the Now, an awareness of all for which I feel gratitude. It’s the recognition of a lesson in action, the “courage to change the things I can”, as written in the Serenity Prayer, as well as the wisdom to let go of what can’t be changed, freeing me from future-tripping and imagining outcomes.

It’s the choice between living in the Now, or living in the obsessive anticipation of the unknown.


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