“Afraid of….?” Blog #145
What scares me today, can my brain figure it out?
Can I stop being a coward and have compassion for myself?
How do I learn about “being afraid” and change it into courage?
Experts suggest that the human mind thinks any where from 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts in
any one day. So if that is true, how do I STOP sabotaging all my good thoughts and where
do I find myself getting courage to try anything new?
Years ago a famous movie came out called “The Wizard of Oz”. This movie was all about
Dorothy. Dorothy is caught up in a tornado in Kansas and hits her head and falls into a
deep sleep. She is a young girl who was trapped in a “dream state of mind” and loses her
way home to Kansas. In her dream, she learns quickly about good and evil. For she meets
the Good Witch of the East who tells Dorothy she must go to the Emerald City of Oz to find
her way home again. Dorothy meets up with three friends all of whom are lacking
something important in their lives.
She travels with the Scarecrow who needed a brain and wants intelligence! She travels
with the Tin Man who was made of metal and has no heart and so lacks compassion.
Then there was the Cowardly Lion who just wants to be “brave” and needed to get rid of
his fear and find some courage! Yet, the best part of the entire movie was toward the end.
Dorothy and the scarecrow and the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion all go to Emerald city
to find what each of them feels they are missing. When they finally got to Emerald City
they had to over come their fear and face Oz. Dorothy managed to pull back a curtain
(this is a great metaphor for the “curtain of life which is often so deceptive). She pulls back
this huge curtain and finds a little man who “appeared to be’ a frightening, fearful,
dragon-like monster and yet was nothing more then a “made up machine orchestrated
by this little old man! The entire showcase of fear based sensation was all a ruse! Nothing
more to it than a made up machine. How much of our fear is actually like that as well?
This movie was made in 1939 = over 85 years ago and the message is still loud and clear
FACE YOUR FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY. F E A R. FALSE EVENTS APPEARING REAL.
Now what do you think the point of the whole movie is?
“Use your brain and care about yourself to have compassion and inner courage so you
can overcome your fear”…this was the message!
Dorothy was to meet the Good Witch and take on the Bad Witch. That’s enough for me to
know this suggests there are good angels and there is darkness. There is good and bad
and I always know that nothing can harm me IF I do not allow it to. I will always choose
good in my life. At the same time, part of my being afraid can come from over-thinking
situations as well. Going over and over something in my head until I manage to jump to
all kinds of unpleasant outcomes, all kinds of conclusions, all because of being afraid to
see something in a different “light”. So many times what I am afraid of never does turn out
to be what I thought it was going to be! Plus it’s time now to let go of all the things I could
not possibly “fix”, let go of whatever I was afraid of. It’s all okay. Today ls filled with brand
new opportunity to choose “Not to be afraid….”
There is always something challenging each one of us. We must face each and every day
with an inner calm and decision to do this while being “unafraid”. Some people are afraid
to meet new people. Some people are afraid to try something new. Some people are
afraid to travel. The biggest step forward is in MY CONTROL. I can make a “step by step
plan”, and then I can practice “mindfulness”. This is grounding myself with deep breaths,
put myself in the present moment by walking through the entire situation. Maybe I can
find a person to trust and share “what am I afraid of….”. The more I face what I am afraid of
today, the healthier my life becomes with strength, purpose and clarity.
It takes discipline to listen to myself talk about “what I’m afraid of…?” When I am able to
acknowledge this. My life gets more relaxed, easier to deal with each day. Every person at
one time or another imagines the worst about a situation, yet usually somehow those
fears never really materialize. More often than not, things turn out much better than one
would expect.
For setbacks are unavoidable, but “giving up” is unforgivable!
I have said many times in the past - I remember to rely on my internal weapon of
strength. this shows me how to face “me” and be unafraid - So prayerfully, I speak,
“help me now, Jesus”. Immediately, I am lifted into a higher state of mind. Daily now I
continue to pray for courage, clarity and compassion for myself and others too.
“Can I identify what I am afraid of today?”
NOW LISTEN TO SONG FOR TODAY - CLICK PLAY BUTTON IN VIDEO BELOW