Photo Credit: Davood Madadpoor
Rumi, a 13th century poet, was quoted by Tara Brach at the end of her guided meditation:
Why do you stay in prison
when the door is so wide open?
Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
My reflection: I lived in the prison of fear for many years. Fourteen years with my son’s addiction, but there were other years where I feared my parent’s wrath, my family’s disintegration, and the loss of my own health to cancer.
Today’s Promise to consider: Sometimes fear can be healthy because it signals oncoming danger, but it often can be crippling and suffocating. Addiction feeds on this dread. “What if my child dies?” “What if my child is sleeping on the streets in the freezing weather?” Fear is normal, but it amplifies itself and grows bigger and bigger. Today, I’ll face my fears, call them by name, and cultivate constructive ways of dealing with them.
Hi Libby,
Apropos to this sentiment there was a very moving piece by Frank Bruni in the NYT about losing your eyesight (which he is) . In it he quoted Joseph Lovett a filmmaker who was going blind and wrote a book about it “Going Blind”. He told Frank that his best counsel was”you cannot spend your life preparing for future losses.” Which seems a profound thought.
Keep up the struggle–all of you.
Bob
My dear Bob,
Thanks for taking the time to write. A great quote – “You cannot spend your life preparing for future losses.” Fear is like that – it can grab you and hold on. It held me for many years, until I chose to break the bonds. Prayers for all of us who struggle. xoxo
Thank you for this reading, it is so empowering!!
Thanks, Cathy. We walk this road and learn together.