I love the Vincent McNabb quote: “Hope is some extraordinary spiritual grace that God gives us to control our fears, not to oust them.”
It reminds me that my goal isn’t to be fearless. My goal is to be fearless enough in this moment to take action. Fear doesn’t have to be banished for that to happen. It only needs to be understood and managed.
Today we tap to keep fear in perspective as we reach for hope.
How Fear Responds To Hope
(audio 3m48s)
Fear is a real part of my life…Fear is something that shows up every single day…In big and small ways…But fear is not the enemy…Fear is there to keep me safe…It comes from a very primitive place…Where physical danger was around every turn…Today, when I notice things that could go wrong…Sometimes it overacts…Sometimes it gets too big…It sees things that could go wrong…And compares them to those ancient dangers…It compares it to being killed by a wild animal…And that’s why it flares up so big…It simply doesn’t want to die…And it sees what is coming as possibly doing just that…It is possible for me…To take action…To move forward…To live fully…Even while feeling fear…It is possible for me…To notice the fear…To recognize it’s trying to keep me safe…And to clearly see what the danger actually is…I give myself permission…To be easy with myself…As I experience this fear…Fear keeps me safe…When I see it for what it is…I can recognize the fear…Understand the fear…And still take action that moves me forward everyday…The goal isn’t to be fearless…The goal is to take the right action…With understanding the message the fear is conveying.
I love the way you integrated the science of the brain and how it reacts so disproportionately to situations that cause us to be fearful. Simple and powerful tapping!
Yes! Recognizing it for what it is, a constant companion in life, and taking the steps anyway. This is a great message to keep on hand for all those many moments when we feel the fear but really want to take the scary step.