I’ve been thinking a lot about Fear.   I’m going through some things right now that have me living with a sense of worry, pretty much all the time. That’s what moving forward will do to you.

The wise ones tell us to remember that we are safe at all times, that we are bigger than our worries.  Yeah, OK.  Thanks for that.

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The Attack of the Heebie Jeebies….

Fear shows up in so many ways, doesn’t it?  Worry, anxiety, anger, bitchiness.  All of those stem from a place of not feeling safe.  Example:  look at the downright nasty nature of politics these days.  If you really drill down, it strikes me that all that heat comes from fear of a changing world.  We like things settled, predictable.  When that goes away — or appears that it might– watch out.

So how do we get to that place of feeling serene when all we want to do is dive face down into the biggest martini we can find?  Breathing helps, both on a physical and spiritual level.  The act of consciously breathing releases tension in our body and gives our mind something else to focus on.

I also think that anxiety and worry are the Universe’s way of letting us know that we need to make a change.  Something isn’t working. This particular Tarot card illustrates that awful wide-awake-at-3-in-the-morning feeling…

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Of course, when you discover the answer, making that change brings its own kind of freak-out potential.  Change is not something anyone really likes; look how long the evolutionary process took–  millions of years for us to just stop walking on our knuckles.  But getting up off our knuckles is necessary.

When the Nine of Swords comes up in a reading, I tell my client that worry is counter-productive and that they need to shrink that sense of overwhelm with action.  One small, bite-sized step at a time gives us a sense of control over the situation.  Action is the antidote to Fear– whether its making a plan to get out of a bad situation, or the physical kind that sweats it out of you.

So I’m trying to look at Fear through a different lens, as an indicator that I am making an important change. I’m not thrilled at it riding shotgun on this journey — but with some deep breaths, an action plan and a giant martini, maybe the trip won’t be so bad.

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2 Comments

  1. Your last paragraph was inspirational.

    I have anxiety hence why I was reading this post. Like you, I am also going through a few things. However, your mind is your worsrt enemy which leaves me feeling confused. Do I really feel this way or is my mind playing tricks onme?

    1. Hey Pino — I personally think that when we get “too much in our head” it’s hard to tell. I’ve found that grounding oneself — with either an action plan or physical things like the breathing or exercise I mentioned — helps us get clear on the core issues. That’s my view, at least!

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