I'm not afraid to be scared

I guess I am ready to be scared. It is kind of a rush actually. Normalcy and complacency have run their course and it is time for transition. I think it is healthy to be a little scared from time-to-time. As much as certainty nourishes us, so do we grow from the unforeseen. Do I really want to know what is around every corner? I think not.

Being scared has an exhilaration that starts the heart. It works our emotional muscles. It shakes us and rocks us off the comfy spots on our couches. It is like our first roller coaster ride where upon rising to the click-clack of the cart moving upward, we know we are either going to throw up or throw our arms up and squeal like a child wanting to go again.

Life hands us challenges. Usually neutral in how they are served, but we can often victimize ourselves by how we label things. We can perceive that things are insurmountable, disrupting, and unfair. Through this fear we become scared. Scared is still okay. We have often been scared, but we often forget what lies on the other side of transcending fear: skill, strength, understanding, leadership, and sometimes peace to name a few.

Remember how long the street looked when you first teetered on two wheels? Remember how long the hallways looked when you first entered school? Did you forget your locker combination? How about the two words that changed your life forever: “I do!” Were you certain of your abilities as a spouse? How about parenting? How did you feel as you stared at the backside of a backpack walking away from you for the first time as your child entered school? Ever lost a job? Gone broke? Overcome illness, addiction, loss?

Still here? Still standing? Wiser? Stronger?

Sure there are enough things out there that are “horrifying”: war, famine, and a multitude of things that we humans need to get a wrangle on. However it is funny that the horrifying things often test our resolve in other ways and are often not as perpetually disrupting to our day-to-day existence. At least I hope not.

I want to be scared. I want to feel again what it is like to grow, to overcome, and feel strong. It is how I feel on the other side of scared that makes me feel empowered, connected, and alive!

Are you scared of anything now? Can you envision how you would feel on the other side of it? What will you gain? Can you use it to the greater good of those around you? It is also comforting to know we have all been there.

Like a child who is afraid of the dark, it is often our opinion of what lies ahead and not the reality which is our greatest adversary. I will try to keep my opinions under wraps so the battles diminish and my will grows exponentially.

To life’s little “Boogey Men” out there I say “bring it on!” “You’re not so tough!”Just please leave the light in the hallway on for me until I fall asleep okay?