The Beauty of Fear

Fear

Forget Everything and Run.

or…

Face Everything and Rise.

It’s your choice.

I was once told by a friend who has taught me so much that fear is false evidence appearing real. This comment took me awhile to process. I’ll be real, I had no idea what in the hell he was talking about. This was one of those conversations though, that you knew, you would be forever changed because of. It took me a few months, maybe even a year or so, to sit back and really consider the definition of fear.

What is fear? Why are we all so afraid?

Why do some appear fearless but, it turns out, they are more fearful that anyone?

I would like to say that all of us human beings want to be fearless. We want someone to tell us we are fearless. That we can overcome any obstacle. And we can. We are all fearless.

But, being fearless, is not something that can simply happen in the blink of an eye.

Being fearless could nearly take a lifetime.

Being fearful could last a lifetime.

Some of us are living in fear and not even realizing it.

So, where is this happy medium, you ask? How can I stop being so damn afraid? Well, sorry to break to you, but that’s not quite how it works.

And I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t afraid. Because I am. Everyday. Perhaps I do not appear that way. Maybe it’s because I am not afraid of some of the same things most people are. We all process fear differently. Everyone has their own definition of what makes them feel fear.

Fear, to me, comes in all shapes and sizes.

One thing about fear is, fear takes control. It shows no mercy. It shows no remorse. I’m taking about fear as if it is a person because in a sense, it is. Fear is you. Fear is me.

I’m afraid. I’m afraid of letting someone all the way in just to have them pull theirselves away. I’m afraid of not accomplishing all my dreams and goals in life. (Aren’t we all?) I’m afraid of living a medicore life that I never anticipated for myself. I’m afraid of someone else decitating everything I should and shouldn’t do to the point where I have lost my balance. I’m afraid of losing my loved ones. I’m afraid of getting “everything I ever wanted” and having it simply just not be enough. I’m afraid of being afraid.

What’s ironic about all of which I am afraid of, and the many more, is that most of the things I listed – have happened in one way or another in my life already. And, I am here writing to you, to tell about it.

So, why would I still be afraid of all of those things? Or, why would I not be? Because I remember how I felt in those moments of despair and in those moments of hopelessness that I would never wish it upon myself again.

Fear is inevitable.

 Fear is the best and worst thing that could ever happen to you.

Fear is something we have created to pinpoint feelings of uneasiness.

I have learned when we face our fears and overcome them, we almost always come out swinging stronger than ever. Hit fear in the face. And never let it consume you.