Recently, I received wise council from a dear friend. She said, “Elizabeth, put down your guard.” At the time, the words seemed foolish. But over the next couple of weeks, I kept hearing them over and over again. Once I took the advice hardily, an amazing shift happened. I found myself complaining less about external circumstances. I began to recognize, again, that fear is a choice. And that realization allowed me to step into my empowered self. None of this happened overnight, but it was a slow process of recognizing the walls I put up to protect myself because of perceived fears of “what might happen”.
At the same time, I kept listening to this song…
...the words “don’t put your trust in walls because they will only crush you when they fall” reminded me in another way of the false perception of security that we feel when we attempt to separate ourselves from anything. It is an absolute illusion. And honestly, I have to say that I am still learning to feel okay without walls of separation…there is a part of me that wants to run and hide behind something or under something sometimes. But it is useless. The hiding causes more issues than just accepting each and every thing that life throws at you. Just observe it, embrace it for what it is... an opportunity to grow, and then let it go. Whether we hide from or hold onto our fears…we create a world that gives us more to fear. But if we embrace what brings us joy, what makes us feel passionate, what makes us feel connected, we create a world of joy, passion and connection.
Jude and I watched the movie “The secret of Kells” the other night. We had to fast forward through the “scary parts to get to the beautiful parts” (Jude’s words). Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do that in life? The secret of Kells is also about fear and magic. The Bishop and villagers are building a giant wall around the village of Kells to protect themselves from the Vikings. The young boy hero of the story is given a mission that requires him to venture out into the dark forest beyond the walls and what he finds there is both dark and magical. His fears become less and less controlling as he discovers the illusions that they really are. And as he does, he becomes empowered and even more so when it becomes apparent that the walls are useless.
Last week, I felt like I too discovered the illusion that my fears were and as I did the walls crumbled. Life has been so much more magical ever since. I am sure that there will be more opportunities to choose fear, but for now I’ll enjoy the magic and joy that the Universe is serving up because I was able to take that first bold step away from my fears and towards love.
