Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Fear of goodness

It is one of those strange, irrational human behaviors. The looking into the rearview mirror, expecting to see the front end of a MAC truck ready to ram into your backside, right when the view in front is breathtaking. More than that, it is a vista sought after for years and finally when the chance to view it arrives, fear of a disaster looms, marring the longed for event. Fear is not so much the problem, but rather the cause for doubting the blessing that lies ahead, and opening up the possibility of self sabotage. We are so often our worst enemy. We seek out what is best and when it comes, we suspect it will be taken away, so we undo the gift in the name of fear. To receive the abundance that comes after years of travail is sometimes more difficult than we can predict. Life is best lived open-handed, ready to give and to receive.

2 comments:

Tobin said...

"so we undo the gift in the name of fear."
I really don't think anything could resonate more truly with me right now. As I'm reading this, it's one of those things where I've known all along that I do this very thing, yet it doesn't strike me until seeing someone else's words how rediculous it is. I mean really! The absurdity of diminishing a current blessing because of fear for the time it will no longer be around. Perhaps "embrace the moment" could be an appropriately simple commissioning in this light...

bill catling said...

Yes, the moments are full of life! Each one stacked upon the next, for us to embrace. How full our lives would be if we lived in the present! It takes reminding myself each day of how precious it is and not to lose sight of the richness of what's in front of me when the pressures seem to drain life away.