Halloween has arrived! If you’ve been following me on the other family blog we’ve had a fun month of crafts, treats, sweets, costumes, pumpkins and lots of scary fun. With today being the celebration, if you will, of all things scary I thought we’d talk about fears.
In truth, fear is really natural. We’re supposed to be fearful of heights, snakes and people that can hurt us, it’s nature’s way of protecting us. There’s another kind of fear that we have, the kind we have because we’ve had our trust broken so many times that fear is ingrained in us almost from birth (even subconsciously babies fear being left alone so they cry). The happiest babies and kids are those who know, feel and experience that they are loved unconditionally and abundantly. But along the way we’ve had our hearts broken, we’ve learned that there are people in the world who don’t have our best interests at heart and are selfish. We’ve missed out on opportunities because politics or money have gotten in the way of the best choice, and not everyone thinks of what will be the best for the greatest number of people, or how to have win-win solutions.
One of the greatest challenges we will ever face in life is getting over our trust issues and fears. It’s a challenge because we have to learn and experience that the world isn’t all evil, even though there is plenty of evidence that proves there is a lot of evil, and that there is hope for a future that isn’t all about the bad, the evil and filled with fears. We need to learn that love is the solution and that there is love in the world to be found.
It’s interesting the progression we go from thinking of fears on Halloween, to being thankful on Thanksgiving, to experiencing the love and celebration of Christmas during these last 3 months every year in the USA. Fear is something that can stick with us for a long time, forever even if we never do anything to get over it, expose the truth of it or heal it. But we have the choice, and the power, to do something about it. We can choose to accept the love in our lives, accept ourselves and share love with the world.
You were born in the situation you were born in, you grew up with what you had. But as an adult you’ve got the whole world at your disposal to make and become whatever you want. Will you choose love or fear?
“Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here.” Marianne Williamson