After my blog homework is done, I often pop in and out of the interwebs riding a whim or a tickle of interest. Like a butterfly, I alight and gather some dew from the flowers I find. And last week, I landed at a post by a blogger named La Toya Burton of twelve22design which has had me thinking. In her series “Lessons: The Golden Threads Picked Up Along the Way {Remembering}”, She suggested that there’s one of two forces working within us at any given time.
There’s love or there’s fear.
I have been pondering the simple truths of love and fear since I read her piece.
“If you come from a place of love”, I said loudly to my son who was sitting in the back seat, “then you can be generous and happy and creative and satisfied. The world is a good place and the people you meet are there for a reason.”
“If you come from a place of fear, it’s all bad. Fearful people can be angry and can overcompensate for their fear by controlling and bragging and bullying. They take from their world and live in a vacuum.”
In my life, I waffle between the two states as surely many others do. And I can feel it as I slip into fear. I am afraid the money won’t be there when the appliance goes up. I fear I’ll have no time to get done what I need to accomplish. I’m scared that the world isn’t going to sustain itself and will starve or blow up or die somehow. I worry that I’m not doing enough or the best or the right thing. Or that the ancient Toyota I’m driving around in will break down somewhere with the children and me in the hot sun for hours. Regular fear stuff.
Yet in love, I can conceive of ways to fix said appliance or get a used one until I’m able to replace it. I can ask for help and hands to get done what I need done and not be trapped under the “I can’ts”. I can volunteer to feed the homeless and not watch the news. I can be OK with doing my best and letting go of the rest as so many people do everyday as they allow for their humanity. And I can make sure my cell phone is charged and my gas tank is full.
Lastly, I can hug and kiss my children and tell them I love them and put all of us to bed with full bellies and clean bodies on clean sheets knowing that I did the best job I could in the life I’ve chosen. I love my life. Even if it sometimes is a little scary. Because the opposite of fear is faith and hard work people.
(La Toya’s lovely Lesson #7 on Laughter is here)
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8 Comments
There’s definitely a lot of truth to this, Shalagh. We make choices, too, about what our outlook will be and, inevitably, it will affect others’ lives. Nice post!
Thank you so much Amy for stopping by. Crickets over here sometimes.
Love Ya’,
Shalagh
ps. creating a bloggers meetup here !
Sometimes I think it feels “easier” to come from a place of fear, as though it is more familiar. And coming from a place of love means…vulnerability to the possibility of ending up in fear. May as well stay there? Such a mind game. So I love that you end by saying “the opposite of fear is faith and hard work” – so true!
p.s. I love the variety of your thoughts and posts – always so good.
I so appreciate that you appreciate my efforts to bop outside the box Dawn. Then again, that’s how my brain works. Thoughts flit past and get grabbed and I challenge myself to see what form they should take. Enjoy your weekending.
Love,
Shalagh
I did my own little thing on Love and Fear (but Love v. Fear, as the two appear to compete). Unfortunately I’m still in much a vacuum (assoc. with fear)…
Faith, hard work, loving life. Fear not, as things for real can only improve with love.
I just visited you and your post was very very poetic. And how very interesting and easy a concept except such a habit to fall down the fearful rabbit hole again and again. Thank you so much Adam for stopping by and sharing this with me. And isolation equals fear. Go get yourself a coffee date.
Love,
Shalagh
Hello Shalagh! Thank you so much for following along with my explorations. I really enjoyed reading your post on Love and Fear, so well said. Also wonderful that you are sharing with your son! My favorite quote from this post is “knowing that I did the best job I could in the life I’ve chosen.” Thank you again. 🙂
Oh my how lovely to have you come by La Toya. You are very impressively committed to your journey. I wished I had more time to devote the way you have but I felt a kindred spirit from the moment I saw you on Instagram. I hope we can stay connected as it seems we should be. Thank you so much for t=your kind words.
Love,
Shalagh