Moving beyond the fears of the ‘there and then’.

Years ago, when I began blogging, I set a goal of writing frequently. It quickly became apparent that ‘frequently’ left too much room for interpretation. I needed a specific measurement. I changed my goal to ‘write daily’.

It worked.

Today I have published 3,425 posts. Enough for several books worth!

I think it’s time to broaden my goal, because ultimately, writing daily is now my habit, which was the underlying intention of writing a blog — to create a safe, courageous container for me to express myself and free myself to be me while also instilling in myself the habit of writing daily.

Writing a blog for 12 years is different than writing in my journal for 12 years. In journal writing, I am an audience of one. The intention is to simply express my thoughts and feelings and allow them to ‘be’ so that I do not have to carry them around inside of me.

Writing on my blog, my intention has always been to share my experiences so that I can find value in all things – and thus, inspire others to find value in all things. No matter how dark, bad, difficult, challenging the circumstance, whatever I share, I must always find the value in whatever it is so that I can create better in the world around me.

What I’ve discovered is that in the act of setting an intention to ‘find value in all things so that I can inspire others to do the same’, I have also developed the habit of seeing the possibility in all things.

Writing every day, when coupled with my intention, has been good for my soul, my spirit, my heart, my life, my world.

But where to from here?

An interesting question as I explore my word for 2019, ‘surrender’.

One of the limiting beliefs I hold is a deeply buried fear of ‘exposure’.  It’s a weird one because it’s not really about ‘success’ or ‘failure’. It’s messed up in a fear of ‘what if people see who I truly am and reject me?’

Now, in my head, I know how ‘silly’ that fear is. But that’s the thing about limiting beliefs and the critter inside who fuels them — Limiting beliefs are fear-driven responses originally created long ago in the there and then to keep us safe in what was the here and now at the time.

Except, the here and now moved on. Our limiting beliefs didn’t. They stayed stuck in the root cause of whatever caused them to be created, deeply buried in the fears that ignited them into being. And they can only be released when we acknowledge them and lovingly expose them to the light of day.

One of the things I’ve learned is that limiting beliefs and the games they ignite are always present in my life. What has changed is my capacity to see where I’m playing them or falling into their trap, and my capacity to stop the game and get conscious of what I’m doing and where I’m at in every moment.

Where once, my self-defeating games dictated my actions, they no longer have as much power to disrupt my status quo and pull me off center.

Sure, there are times when I get triggered and respond inappropriately or without thought. But, rather than staying stuck in my victim role, or defiant child attitude, or stubborn teenager, or whatever attitude I’ve taken on, I am able to bring my integrity to bear and let go of ‘attitude’ to allow myself the grace of being real and present with myself.

So what does this have to do with a new goal for my writing?

I’ve been kind of stuck in thinking if I just keep writing, the path will appear and I will know what to do. (Which deep down is really all about my fear of being exposed)

Surrender isn’t about just letting the flow take me where it will. It’s one of the contradictions of ‘flow’. It’s not about being like a jelly fish, letting the tide’s ebb and flow take me where it will.

Surrender is about giving into and becoming one with the deeper divine wisdom within, trusting that, embraced in its presence, I am safe to step beyond my comfort zone into the unknown, confident that whatever I do or encounter, I will be supported by Love. In Love’s embrace, no action is wrong or right. It is just the action I am taking to create better in my world.

And the journey continues… Still musing…. Still evolving.. Still discerning what it means to surrender…

 

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4 thoughts on “Moving beyond the fears of the ‘there and then’.

  1. LG,

    It has been a lot of fun watching you – I’m so glad I got you started …

    ‘Putting it out there’ every day vis-a-vis the diary or journal is, metaphorically speaking, a way of standing naked on the street corner every day, exposing so much to view …

    And once we get used to being that exposed, together with feedback from people who say ‘wow’ or ‘me too’ or who explain that your words reached them on a deep level … aside from the odd hiccup of asking ourselves (really, did I actually disclose that?), we get emboldened by the freedom our speech allows us.

    You write of changing and influencing others as part of your motivation. I get that. But more deeply, don’t you find the best part of this process is spelunking in your own head? That’s what I find so powerful about it – and sometimes you’ve found, just as I have, that the lessons we learn about ourselves are far more powerful than we might have imagined.

    What comes next?

    I ask myself that every year. Sometimes for a day or two I think about doing it all differently. But I get past that. Little tweaks sometimes, switching technology etc., but most of all I’ve stood firm in ‘sticking with the process’. It is ‘therapy I can afford’ and the most important part of my day – morning, coffee, writing, dog walking … the order may vary but that ‘time of day’ remains protected space I won’t let anyone or anything invade because it has brought me so much, and so many people (like you) into my world. People I never would have known and likely never met.

    Here’s a thought for you – something to add to your process. Write every day, publish every day. You’ve mastered the Mon-Fri routine. Add the weekend. They don’t always have to be long or serious but you’ve built a connection with readers, with followers, and knowing your temperature on a daily basis is far more important to them than the weather report …

    Don’t quit …

    Don’t even think about it!

    Cheers,

    Mark

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Learning not to allow fear to cripple us can be so hard but when we do we can surrender ourselves to being an open book and say this is me and I am a good person take me as I am or don’t let the door hit you on your way out

    Liked by 1 person

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