Fear Not!!!

Today I want to talk about something most of us have experienced to some or other degree in our lives.  We are all familiar with it.  Some people openly admit it, but most of us try to deny it, few every want to face it.  It is that fiend called Fear.

Fear is defined in the dictionary as  "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc.,whether the    threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid."

It is said that a small measure of fear in our lives is good, even beneficial, as it can prevent us from acting irresponsible and without regard for the consequences of our actions.  Yet, fear is one of mankind's most debilitating emotions.  Fear can keep us pinned down, it can destroy us.  Fear can stop us from thinking clearly and constructively.  Fear destroys our confidence, we start to doubt our own abilities and it robs us of our peace of mind.  It mostly prevents us from venturing out into life and attempting new and exciting things.  It makes us distrustful of everything and everyone around us.

Fear has a physical as well as an emotional effect on us.  It is destructive.  Therefor it is essential to break free from fear.  Sometimes, however, we are not even aware of the fact that we are experiencing fear, as fear has a habit to disguise itself as other emotions.  

Often fear wears the mask of anger.  The reason for this is that if we respond with anger, people tend not to see the fear hiding behind our angry faces, thus we protect our vulnerabilities.  These vulnerabilities might be a poor self-esteem or past hurts, it could be our insecurities or even stress.  

Fear can also wear the mask of hate.  People find it very hard to see the fear we are hiding behind our apparent hatred of something or someone.  An example could be somebody who hates going to functions.  It is not actually the function they hate, but it is their fear of not fitting in with anybody there that generates this hatred.  It hides their vulnerability, their ultimate fear of rejection away behind a convenient mask.

Another mask fear sometimes hides behind, is a mask of indifference.  We pretend not to care, we pretend not be interested in something or somebody, that way no-one would even guess that we actually fear disappointment, disillusionment or failure.

To break free of fear it is important to first of all identify the masks we hide our fear behind, and then secondly to identify what it is that we actually fear.  When we see the monster for what it is, it is easier to break it down until it is nothing more that a fluffy bunny.  It becomes something we can handle and even eliminate all together from our lives.  Then we can release its stranglehold on our wings and fly free.  We can soar to heights we have only dreamed about.

What do your fear?  Have you identified it?  Now is the time to break free!

You are welcome to share your fears here on the blog, here is no judgement, only encouragement.  What did you do to overcome your fear?  I am looking forward to hear from you.

Blessings.