Changing to Overcome Fear

After five years in a home that has brought much disappointment and lost dreams, we are moving out in 2 weeks. Only a month into purchasing our home, we have been imagining the day when we would finally be able to leave. The crazy and kind of stupid thing is that now that the day is drawing near, I am beginning to freak out.

Isn't it funny how when facing change, the things we thought we wanted so much are the things we begin to fear? Right now, the fear is that we won't be able to recover; that the sale of our house and the prospect of a new direction will only bring more heartache. There is such a correlation to what I am facing now and what I perceive as the process some us go through with acting in love toward our bodies. Thinking that we will finally be happy when we shed the weight, or we can wake up and not constantly worry about what we will eat or how we will feel we build up the moment of change so much that we can begin to fear it. We want to protect our hearts from having to possibly deal with more failure, more disappointment, or more change that doesn't give us what we hoped for. This protective mechanism might help dull the pain, but it robs us from enjoying the journey toward a life full of mystery and unexpected joy. It's risky to put our hearts out there and really try for something bigger and better, only to feel like life has failed us, or worse, we have failed ourselves.

Leo F. Buscaglia said, "The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live." No matter how much fear might rise up within us, we must keep pressing into it with our hands open to the possibility of making change that will teach us more about how to love ourselves and others. We can't control every step of the way, but we can decide how we will move forward. What steps will you take today to move away from fear, anxiety, doubt, and confusion and more toward conviction, love, optimism, and hope? There is so much already within you to trust. Sometimes we just need a big step of faith to stand up to our fears!