“Fear and hunger have kept me young,” he (the magician) replied. He looked around the circle of dozing, rumbling Councilmen and winked widely…
The Mayor was not offended. “It’s true,” he sighed, caressing his dinner with linked fingers. “We do lead a good life here, or if we don’t, I don’t know anything about it. I sometimes think that a little fear a little hunger, might be good for us – sharpen our souls, so to speak. That’s why we always welcome strangers with tales to tell and songs to sing. They broaden our outlook…set us to looking inward…”
-The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
Drowning Just Beneath The Surface
It seems to me that many of us are drowning just beneath the surface. Lacking the courage to be decisive. Will we deep dive or will we rise?
Drifting just under the water, lacking the conviction to extend our hand and break free to the surface. We self-impose because we are afraid. It is not what may come, or what may be granted that frightens us.
We are frightened of ourselves, and we do not trust how we will respond to what may come. The only thing we must fear is fear itself. When we stare into the dark, will we remember that fear is a matter of the mind?
We limit and get in our own way as a means to create an excuse for ourselves.
Scared of failure but even more so, we are scared of our own response to failure. Will we fall and remain amongst the fallen, or will we get back up and try again?
It is our tragic and misguided attempt of taking back control. Protecting our egos and keeping us safe, not from others, but from the devilish imposter syndrome of our own minds.
For no one is harder on us, then we are of ourselves. We withhold far more from ourselves than any other will withhold from us; be it love, compassion, or forgiveness.
The Wave of Life Calls For Us to Ride Its Crest
We are desperate for the break of a wave. If only we had the courage, then we would ride the crest even at the risk of the crash. For at least then we could say we had ridden.
We crack and break not at the crest but in the mundane. We beg for a climax, but we fear the cost. Begging and wishing for a final escalation to provide the peace and clarification of beginning to end – no matter the end.
Fear has been taught to us. Fear of not having enough, fear of not being enough, fear of failure. But fear is not the truth. There is nothing holding us back but ourselves. Fear is false. Love is truth.
Daring To Live – A Miraculous Shift In Perception
“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that something deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch.” – E.E. Cumming
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – E. E. Cummings
In each moment, we are presented with a canvas that awaits our artistic creativity. These moments of life are precious and they long for us to make beauty and meaning.
Our time is now. What will we do to honor the gift of life.
One must live life to the fullest. Facing fears. Giving their all to each moment. Trying and trying again. Learning. Teaching. Demonstrating. Giving. Forgiving. Encouraging. Loving.
We Must Honor Each Other So That We May Honor Ourselves
We need to give each other permission to present ourselves as works in progress instead of works of perfection.
Living does not happen at our destination. It happens in the journey. It is here that the gift of life reveals itself. It is in the living or ‘doing’ that you and I make our mark and serve our higher purpose.
To do so is to live authentically, be vulnerable, face our fears, grow through our mistakes, be accepting of the miracle found through chaos, laugh, and most importantly….to love and honor our own humanness and the humanness of our fellow mankind.
I pray that you and I support each other so that we might forgive ourselves of our imperfections. We are called to courageously move forward and audaciously live.
Amen.
Thanks for Reading. Sincerely,
Kurt Petersen