"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'I'd heard the last line of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote many times, but the rest felt new (as well as timely since I'd made the decision to push some personal boundaries by participating in this retreat & was experiencing periodic episodes of sheer panic as I wondered what I'd gotten myself in for). The affirmation resonated as empowering, so I added it to the "inspirational reminders" in my Palm Life Drive and checked the "repeat daily" box to keep me focused and calm. (I've since changed to repeat "monthly" so it shows up regularly even now).
You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
~Eleanor Roosevelt
Today's Affirmation: I am filled with confidence, courage, wisdom and desire enough to do what is before me today.
This morning's message from Renaissance Unity reminded me of the previous one, and I'm pondering both as I move through the day.
"It's been proven that the only effective way to deal with fear is to walk through it, through the pain that accompanies doing something you're afraid to do. It takes courage to fulfill your commitments, courage to stay on track, courage to follow your dreams, courage to reach your goals, and courage to walk through your fear. Remember, reaching goals is not so much about doing big things when the feeling hits you; it's more about doing little things every day that move you toward your dream. It's about staying steady and on course."
~Francine WardToday's Affirmation: I am capable, constant, courageous and confident.
It took about 6 weeks (after returning from Taos) for me to act on the suggestions of so many of the writers I met at MDL & finally accept Kara's challenge to check out this "Virtual World" ... and in the past three weeks since I dipped my proverbial "toe" in the water, I've faced my fear of "being known" ... jumped into the Blogosphere with both feet (well actually with both hands and all my fingers), encountered an array of lovely, supportive people sharing in this virtual space, discovered (with surprised delight) the decades of personal writing practice in journals has led to fluidness of thought & expression here, and now I wonder what the big deal was all about.
I suppose my next steps will involve returning to those journals and mining them for whatever pieces of myself from the past that I'm willing to share, but I'm seeing Joy's advice in my head here ... (the "angel" who found & left me a comment on my very first post at Small Reflections before I'd added anything but my Profile to my side bar, spurring me onward with a promise to return) ... gently reminding me "baby steps" ... and I'm grateful.
I suppose my next steps will involve returning to those journals and mining them for whatever pieces of myself from the past that I'm willing to share, but I'm seeing Joy's advice in my head here ... (the "angel" who found & left me a comment on my very first post at Small Reflections before I'd added anything but my Profile to my side bar, spurring me onward with a promise to return) ... gently reminding me "baby steps" ... and I'm grateful.
What fears call you to face them today?
6 comments:
i love these quotes. i am not surprised that you were drawn to the video and message at the soltura site. life really is about facing fear and taking those steps that we think we could never take. one of the main themes of soltura is that we really only have two choices...we can come from a place of love or we can come from a place of fear. we need both, but the beauty is when we get to make the decision consciously.
you have heroicly stepped into your dream of writing right here in your blog. "baby steps", yes. thank you for this reminder and inspiration.
Fear can certainly be immobilizing .. and like everything else.. it has something to teach us. The only way to get to the lesson is to walk through it. It takes a lot of faith in the process to motivate us. :)
Lucy
Glad you enjoyed the quotes and thanks for the encouragement. I'm learning to trust again ... gradually. Reading what you write here about Soltura, I'm reminded of A COURSE IN MIRACLES which defines love as "letting go of fear" ... and it makes me wonder if the two are related in some way or if, like most spiritual traditions, they simple share understanding of basic truths.
Chani
As usual, you're right on target with these observations. Thanks for adding your two cents ... and rest assured, I'm definitely walking through my fears and trusting the process.
not surprised you see the connection with "the course of miracles" although technically they are not "related." i have not done "the course" myself, but find that "basic truths" are the same in most spiritual traditions and while soltura is not connected to any one particular tradition, it is without a doubt one of the holiest experiences i have ever been a part of.
so simple. so complicated :-)
Lucy,
I'm not surprised to learn you've studied ACIM nor that we share a Methodist upbringing for it seems we have much in common. I was raised, however, in a very conservative Dutch Reformed Church until the age of 12 when the family made this transition. It was quite a shift for my parents, but good for me and my siblings. The commonality of "basic truths" definitely permeates all religions though it takes a while to perceive the simple in the complicated. :)
I'm curious what led you to Soltura, but perhaps as I catch up gradually with earlier posts on your site ... I'll find that out. All in good time.
On a different subject, McAfee is running a scan of my laptop today causing everything to run S L O W L Y ... so the "pointer" is hard to control currently. When the email notification of your latest comment disappeared unexpectedly as I tried to read it, I worried it had been mistakenly reported as "spam" because I couldn't find it anywhere. I'm relieved it showed up eventually in my "archived" folder. Gmail takes some getting used to after using MSN all these years, but all's well that ends well. I'm learning all the time. ;)
Hugs and blessings,
Probably the most descriptive post for my story and Soltura is called "what is soltura?" written in august of this year.
dutch reformed, eh?
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