Addiction #32 – Fear (6 Steps to Freedom … Step 6)
LICKING THE RAZOR’S EDGE
Addiction #32 – FEAR (Part 2 … Six Steps to Freedom)
Step 06: CELEBRATE LIFE
It is relatively safe to say that everyone comprehends the priceless nature of life; that we all realize that we have each been given one shot to make the most of the human experience (at least in our current bodies with our current identities), and that we should therefore make the most of it. And most folks understand that in order to do so, we must at some point (the sooner the better) set aside our fears and start “living life to the fullest”.
And yet it is important to realize as well that the most popular ways of “celebrating life” are often the most counterproductive – intensifying our fears more than relieving them; burdening our lives more than setting us free.
For example:
*We are told to “be successful” by working hard in order to attain the “good things in life” (primarily via “financial security”, an oxymoron if there ever was one), and yet doing so only ensures that we ultimately fail to obtain the things in life that truly do matter.
*We are told to “party hard & “have fun”, and yet doing so ultimately harms our health and hollows our relationships.
*We are told to “be brave” and “face fear head on”, and yet doing so ends up becoming an addiction in its own right (to adrenaline or to drama, a.k.a. “excitement”) – one that ironically shortens the very life we are trying to enhance.
No, my Friends, before we can be truly Success-full, we must remember what Success truly is … For any sentient being, true Success comes only to those who choose to be humane.
Before we can truly in-Joy our lives, we must finally understand the source from whence true Pleasure originates … For every conscient being, true Pleasure comes only to those who bring others Joy.
Before we can truly confront – and thereby at least temporarily dismiss – our fears, we must be willing to recognize what our deepest fears truly are … And for every conscious being, those fears are forgiveness, openness, intimacy and Love.
We are born into fear – fear is all our most primitive brain stem understands, and fear is all that our most primitive ego-self praises. And it is this program of “survival first” that proves to be the premature death of us all … It is this “first fear” that starts a chain reaction in our thoughts; a chain reaction that seeps into our everyday deeds, destroying our lives long before we physically perish.
Consider: It is our fear that gives birth to all of our desires – the desire to be appreciated, the desire to be affirmed, the desire to be safe, even the desire to be loved. And, if left unchecked, it is these very desires that calcify over time – becoming our fervent faiths in futures “better”, our tempered trusting of friends fickle, and our inflexible expectations of loved ones less-then-perfect …
As long as we are living primarily for ourselves, it is these hollow hopes that inevitably crumble, spilling our thoughts over & over again into vast vats filled with disappointments past & present –
disappointments that quickly contract into frustration,
frustration that smoothly congeals into annoyance,
annoyance that steadily hardens into dislike,
dislike that repeatedly stiffens into anger,
anger that eventually thickens into aggression,
aggression that finally crystallizes into enmity,
and enmity that lashes out in varied forms of violence …
… attacks of thought, word or deed that always cause intense pain, lasting wounds, and even more fear; a renewed anxiety that causes the same cycle of “dying before death” to begin in us anew.
AND YET, as hopeless as this all sounds, THERE WAITS A READY REMEDY.
No matter where you happen to find yourself in the afore-mentioned sequence of fear & violence – no matter whether you are afraid or hopeful or frustrated or disappointed or annoyed or angry, all it takes is one act of selfless Kindness to shatter those shackles and free yourself to enjoy a life of Power, Peace & Purpose.
Just as fear is the source of all our suffering, it is Kindness that is the remedy for that fear.
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure in death, but of succeeding while living at things that don’t really matter.” ~ inspired by Francis Chan
[Hint: It is KINDNESS that matters; Kindness is the Celebration … so PARTY ON!]
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