Musings Gratitude Day 90

Today I am grateful for fear!

You are probably saying, “She’s really gone off the deep end!” Right?

Perhaps, but fear can be a learning experience as well as a defense mechanism.

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

— Marie Curie

I used to be fearful

but not as much anymore.

I thought I was inadequate

but no longer.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

— Marianne Williamson

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I have faced many fears straight-up and head-on:

“Denial is a state of mind with no legs. Therefore, while it works very hard to convince me that I’ve run far away from that which frightens me, it can’t take me anywhere except where I’m at.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

I have allowed myself to love deeply,

mourned,

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”
― C.S. Lewis

stood at the edge of the abyss and stepped back

instead of jumping in,

became accustomed to living alone,

started listening more to my heart and less to my head,

“Don’t give in to your fears. If you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.”
― Paulo Coelho

embraced healing, myself, and my darkness.

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With acceptance, came gratitude.

Gratitude brought peace.

Peace opened up new ways of seeing others.

“People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance. And while they seem quite eager to feed you their negativity, please remember that sometimes the diet we need to be on is a spiritual and emotional one. Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul. Fuel yourself with positivity and let that fuel propel you into positive action.”
― Steve Maraboli

New ways of seeing others brought happiness.

“There is no beauty in sadness. No honor in suffering. No growth in fear. No relief in hate. It’s just a waste of perfectly good happiness.”
― Katerina Stoykova Klemer

Happiness that I craved.

Choose happiness.

XO Lisa