Taking Fear Out Of The Drivers Seat

It’s been a long year. It seems like every time I turn around something tragic is happening somewhere. A story comes through about a young life drowning as a family flees tyranny. A story about a small town being wiped off the map overnight by fire. All around me there are stories of fear and terror. How could that happen to them? Could that happen to me? How can I protect myself and my family?

While processing the news, or even the events of our own daily lives, our emotional response often sends us to a place of fear. Our focus on the tragic will drive us to hand off the steering wheel, of our lives, over to fear. At some point we as a culture seem to have decided this was a reasonable framework to operate from.

From there it was just up to the clever media moguls to realize what it took to get our attention. Fear. Scare the heck out of them and you’ll have their attention. Sure the attention you get will be from a stressed overwrought and foggy headed crowd, but you’ll have their attention.

And so it goes on and on.

We hand over control to our fear and our fear becomes so strong that we can’t take the wheel back. We even begin to identify with the fear and without noticing we think that we’re in the driver seat. We’re making rational choices about our kids safety and how we should treat other people. We’re thinking through the way we treat strangers and who we elect for office. We do all this without realizing we are being driven by fear.

I have good news, and I have bad news.

The bad news.

We all die, sometimes tragically and sometimes in boring ways. Death is a natural part of life, usually the last part. Every story ends.

The good news.

We all die, sometimes tragically and sometimes in boring ways. Death is a natural part of life, usually the last part. Every story ends.

I do not wish to downplay or dismiss the tragedy that is occurring in the world this year. However we need to stay focused, or rather become focused once more. We need to take the steering wheel back and clear our heads.

So politely and affectionately I offer you this, A STRONG slap in the face. <SMACK>

Snap out of it! Wake up! Find your center.

You are here now. You are a miracle. The world is a wonderful place filled with puppy dogs and kittens. You came here for a reason. Without feeling like I am overstepping my bound, I am confident in telling you, the reason was NOT to live out of fear. The reason was not to worry about things that are out of your control.

I dare say the reason you came here was to live and to learn and to love.

The reason you are here is to experience life to it’s fullest and to help out where you can.

Take back the wheel. Think for yourself. Operate from a place of love. Compassionately tell your fear to take a hike.

Namaste,

Kevin