Honoring Life Changes: The Wisdom of Fear

“Anything really worth doing in our lives, will always have some fear attached to it.”

It helps to remember that this type of fear is good. It is your way of questioning whether you really want the new life, these changes will bring. It is also a potent reminder that releasing and grieving the past is a necessary part of moving into the new.

Fear has a way of throwing us off balance, making us feel uncertain and insecure, but it is not meant to discourage us. Its purpose is to notify us that we are at the edge of our comfort zone, poised in between the old life and a new one. Whenever we face our fear, we overcome an inner obstacle and move into new and life-enhancing territory, both inside and out. The more we learn to respect and even welcome fear, the more we will be able to hear its wisdom, wisdom that will let us know that the time has come to move forward, or not. While comfort with fear is a contradiction in terms, we can learn to honor our fear, recognizing its arrival, listening to its intelligence, and respecting it as a harbinger of transformation. Indeed, it informs us that the change we are contemplating is significant, enabling us to approach it with the proper reverence. – DailyOM

Yesterday I stood between two chapters in my life, one job ending and another about to begin. Although I knew this day would come, I was still surprised by the emotional impact derived from powering off my cellphone for the first time since I had recieved it and hearing a door close behind me that I no longer had a key to reopen.

Small things, to be certain…but they brought tears just the same. Suddenly, the magnitude of inevitable change loomed before me and I was powerless to stop it.  In the wake of this realization, came the slightest ripple of fear that I would be starting over once again.

At this point, I began to reflect on all of the changes in my life, that had preceded this one. Each of them, necessary steps to reach this particular place in time. I remembered the anxiety I had felt when this job was new and the constant presence of worry & doubt in my abilities and performance. Granted, they were short lived, but they existed nonetheless.

I began to think about the people I’ve encountered, the experiences we’ve shared and the lives that were inevitably touched…beginning with my own. And the fear began to dissipate…quietly replaced with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, for all that I have known.

As I began walking toward my truck and the two clients that were waiting there, both verbally reluctant to be brought home for the last time…I realized how truly fortunate I really am.

My new job, will afford me the opportunity to stay in contact with many, if not all of the same people. Friendships were formed, that will undeniably continue and the possibilities that exist on the next horizon…are immeasureable.

This fear, that crept in….was no longer warranted…and I let it slip away from my shoulders. But I also knew, with complete certainty, that had it not been for the presence of fear and the anticipation of change, I probably would not have achieved the same perspective or degree of gratitude that I inevitably feel at this moment.

Even fear…has its purpose. What we decide to do when faced with that fear…is entirely up to us.

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