Who wants to be afraid? In every moment, each of us is given
choice to love or to fear. A simple choice, one might think. But in this world, with violence, terrorism, war and disease becoming every day life for so many, is there anyone who hasn't struggled with fear? Whenever we're about to make a major leap forward in our spiritual development, fear always steps into our path. It's antagonist in all our personal stories. It's true that we attract what we fear. The more we fear a thing, more likely it is to happen. And if left unchecked, fear can take control of our lives. Yet, everything has a purpose and fear is no exception.
There is good reason to be afraid of some things. Fear is a messenger that warns us there may be danger ahead. Its purpose is to guide us toward actions that will protect us as well as our loved ones. It is natural and healthy to feel fear. But like other natural tendencies we have, we're here to master our fear.
We all wish that life could be stable. We imagine that we would feel safe and comfortable if we could make life remain static, or secure. But without dangers in our lives we cannot live to our highest potential, and we never fulfill that potential without learning from our fear.
Of course, you don't want to take it too far. You don't want to be so engrossed in your fear that you become consumed by it. But there is a balance to be achieved between that extreme and its opposite - avoiding, denying, trying to be unafraid. Avoidance of fear is our greatest barrier to spiritual growth and happiness.
When we try to avoid or deny our fear in hope that we can just be rid of it, it usually gets worse. Shutting out fear invariably shuts out choices and blessings that could take us to next level of our soul's development.
Fear is very much like quicksand. The more you fight it, deeper you sink. Embracing your fear is akin to relaxing in quicksand so you can stop sinking. Until we face our fear head-on, and embrace it, it will dominate us. Carl Jung said, "The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside as fate." Fear that is ignored takes up residence in our souls, and draws experiences to us in which it can exercise itself. We then find ourselves face to face with same fear-inducing experiences again and again.
The result of this is that our ability to exercise our free will becomes hampered more and more every time we let fear take over. This can create extremely stubborn blocks in our spiritual progress, and can harm us physically, mentally and emotionally.
Avoiding fear blocks us from joy we could be experiencing and blinds us to Divine Light in our soul. But when we begin journey toward embracing our fear, we begin a healing process that leads us inevitably to our true Selves, Self that is Divine. The whole point of life is to come to know ourselves as a part of that Divinity and to reunite with that Truth within.
