on fear and faith

I’ve been teaching a session of The Artist’s Way, and following along with the exercises myself. I’ve also been doing Amanda Moxley’s “Pop Your Biz” workshop, AND I’ve been busy with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition‘s Health Coaching program. Did I tell you about those?

Well, so, yeah, I’ve been busy.

Working ON my business, myself, my health, my career, my path, my vision. I am finally feeling ready to truly launch into working more IN my business, myself, my health, my career, my path and my vision. It’s a little bit of a leap, a stretch — to go from visualizing to actualizing. To ACTION, which, as I imagine you know but always bears repeating, is the antidote to fear.

I don’t know if you know this about me, but I have a lot of fear. Well, my therapist calls it “Anticipatory Anxiety”. That has a nice alliterative ring to it, eh? It seems I was a pretty fearful child. I created myths around boats and bridges and made-up monsters and movie monsters (no, don’t let a 11 year-old watch the film “IT”. No. Just DON’T do it). Fears about airplanes and math tests and geography bees and book reports, and then college applications and opening nights and then more airplanes (who’s big idea was it for me to go to college across the country?), and then fears around relationships and housing and careers and job interviews and muggings and tragedy and natural disasters. I admit that some of these things are scary to most people. Are reasonable to be afraid of. But what I’m working on now, what my task is this week (and presumably for the rest of my life), is to literally and metaphorically “cross that bridge when we get to it.” Again, sounds good, right?

:::::deep breath::::::

We are safe, now. It is time to act. 

So in my business, my path, my career, my health — I am working on that whole idea of “feeling the fear” and taking action anyway.

“Leap and the net will appear.”

This goes a long way in cultivating faith. Faith that the world is good and that I’m cared for and that I can trust. That I am good enough and that I can be myself and the world will reward that authenticity. Just writing this to you is a leap of faith. An airing of things not often said in the open. And my faith is that you will appreciate it, see some of yourself in it, and be propped up in the faith that we are all in this together. That it is ok to be honest, vulnerable. That there isn’t really any competition or any reason for criticism or ridicule. {And if you do feel the urge to ridicule me, if you wouldn’t mind just doing it to yourself or your friend and not to my face. That would be lovely. Thanks.}

So, what are you afraid of?

Yours in fear and faith,

xo

Laurie

Tagged as: action, fear, IIN