Tag: fear

The rocky road

First let me say, wow, it’s been a long time. I knew it had been a while, but until I just logged in, I had no idea just how long it’s been since I’ve posted here. As we all know, life happens. I’ve been meaning to post, but I just never have carved out the time to do so on this page. I’ve been focusing on other things, like my other page: PostPunkPartum which is dedicated to my adventures in parenthood. I’ve also started working on a new business venture with my bestie. Anyone that has ever worked for themselves can attest, it’s not easy and is extremely time consuming.

Anyway, these things have been happening, in addition to being a wife and mother, which are full time jobs- after my full time job. This is actually kind of  the topic of today’s blog. The path to happiness is a rocky road, filled with potholes, detours, construction, the widening or narrowing of lanes, and flat out dead ends. These are all things that I’ve been experiencing over the last several months with my little family, and my whole earth family (more on that in a another blog post).

On this road it’s hard to navigate sometimes because we don’t know what’s up ahead. We know certainly that the road around the bend is uncertain and there’s little we can do to prepare for that stretch of road, until we are coming upon it. We often times will have to drive cautiously and we may have to swerve because there’s a fallen tree that was previously out of our sight. But that’s what we do to survive, right? We react to the road ahead and do the best we can to avoid obstacles and pitfalls. Life is basically this metaphor for the entirety of the journey, in my opinion.

So, my question to this metaphor and the potential dangers in front of me is how do we maintain happiness through all of this uncertainty? Many people fear nothing but the unknown. For example, a friend of mine HATES what her job has become and spends a lot of time searching classified ads seeking new employment. However, at the very same time, she doesn’t take the steps necessary to put herself in a marketable position or to leap at all. She’s comfortable in her rut and has no desire to change herself, but she will be forced to if her company begins downsizing, as is the rumor. She could be using this time to learn a new skill or program, to better set herself up for the future; she could do a lot of things. But what is really holding her back is the fact that she doesn’t like change and she’s completely fearful of the unknown. She’s been doing her job for the better part of a decade and after that long, I’d likely be afraid too.

So how do we let go of this fear? What ways can we let go of the rut and actually take steps to change, instead of letting the universe take action for us? I’ve said it for many years that if we do not make the changes the universe (or god, the great spirit, etc) wants from us, the universe will force our hand and make the changes whether or not we like them. And from experience, we often do not like them. I’ve personally been on the receiving end of some shitty situations because I couldn’t make choices or changes fast enough and the universe forced me to adapt. Real quick. I think these changes are my least favorite. Since I’ve been on the wrong end of some universal/ karmic changes, I know better for the most part. I try to be as aware as possible of those “stirrings”, and I’ve definitely honed my “spidey sense” when it comes to change.

For instance, I’m pretty keyed in on my downsizing timeline. I know that my days are limited at my current job, which is why I’ve been actively searching for things that suit my needs and wants better. I knew taking this position that I was not long for it. It’s not what I want to do and the money/ working environment are not what I need, not to mention, I’m becoming obsolete. My supervisors are not telling us this, of course, because they still need us for the time being. It’s not a good feeling to know that you’re working yourself out of a job, even though I should be used to it. This has happened to me more than once. The fear part comes in because many of the options I have available to me, until my business gets off the ground, are simply either entirely too much for me to want to do, or not enough for us to survive. It’s pretty much a catch 22. I’m under-qualified to move up or over-qualified for what I’m good at/can be hired to do. However, I also know that by being open to the universe and the changes that are possible, the fear will be lessened overall. If I am open to changes and the rocky road ahead, I will remain alert and less afraid of the challenges in front of me.

I’ve taken thousands of wrong turns and been surprised by the outcomes, both positively and negatively. But the road of happiness is not meant to be a pristine, smooth ride. It’s designed to teach you things about yourself, force you to react to hairpin turns and switchbacks, and test your guts on the pothole proving grounds. Otherwise, how do you know you’re alive?

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The other F-word.

I know, I know… I’ve been slacking on writing the last couple weeks. I’m sorry… I will not bore you all with my excuses, but I will say that I promise to get back into a more regular schedule. I’ve just been distracted.

Anyway, so the other F-word… it’s got 4 letters and it’s probably more damaging than the one we all naturally think of… it’s fear. FEAR is the “other F-word” and truthfully, considering the damage that it does to people’s lives, mine included, it should be the first F-word, not the “other”.

http://gigaom.com/collaboration/8-reasons-not-to-fear-social-media/stock-fear/

In recent weeks I’ve been grappling with a lot of fear. There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding several aspects of my life and a couple “surprises” have come up to complicate matters even more. I have several opportunities glaring me in the face, career moves, educational opportunities, potential relationships and yet… I feel literally paralyzed when I think of having to make a choice. That’s fear. I’m afraid of making the wrong move. Since I’ve made so many stupid ones over the years, I just can’t make a move. By not making a choice, I’m still making a choice. In my head, I know that this is fear and that it’s keeping me in a submission hold to a life that doesn’t exist or feelings/thoughts that are totally nuts. But fear is one of the most powerful feelings that we feel as humans, or any animal really. It’s a universal feeling, this thing we call fear, amongst all animals. We are just aware of it outside the realm of basic survival.

There are times where it’s appropriate to hide out in our bunkers, but if we never see the light of day we can never experience all that life has to offer. My problem with this is that life has been kicking me in the teeth over the last several years and I’m just not sure I can stand up anymore. However, when I see those close to me being afraid of things that seem so obvious to me, or over nothing at all… I just want to shake them until they snap out of it. But it dawned on me recently… I’m that guy to most of the people who know my inner workings. I’m 100% certain they want to kick my ass and rightly so. There are much more difficult decisions and definitely more important things for me to be worrying about than some of the topics I cannot seem to let go of. Yet, all the while, I struggle. It’s incredibly frustrating…

http://think9ja.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/im-not-afraid/

I’m currently reading a book on self-compassion and it’s appropriate for my current mind state. Learning to be kind to yourself without judgment, using comforting thoughts and words toward not only others in times of struggle, but also for yourself. It’s fairly counter intuitive to Westerners, simply because we value heard work and diligence so greatly… but you can have those things and also be compassionate to yourself, apparently. I’m still in the very preliminary learning stages of how to accomplish such things… but I’m doing my best. That, to me, is what matters.

In the meantime, I’m also doing things that I find enjoyable and spending time with people that I value in my life. I am doing everything I can do to forgo a few hours of sleep to do fun things. I recently went to a concert and I’ve had several dinners and drinks with some of my favorite people. Meanwhile, I’m trying to get focused about school and getting back into the rhythm of the semester. That, sadly, is easier said than done.

There are more good things on the horizon. I can feel it. :)

http://www.mailandfemail.com/?p=1349
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Communication and Right Speech

Right speech can go one of two ways in my opinion: 1) You speak only when you have something to say that is honest, wholesome, encouraging, constructive, positive or any combination thereof, or 2) You say nothing unless you have to. For several weeks, I attempted to make option 1 my goal.

However, I realized rather quickly that well, I’m a human being and I’m going to be harsh, critical, and negative sometimes. It’s difficult to be positive in speech when you’re angry or frustrated. I know, I’ve tried. Lately, I’ve taken to just not talking in general. Unless I’m chatting with a friend or someone, I’m just not interested in talking much.

The problem with this is that I feel as if I’m becoming more and more isolated. Yes, I’m staying out of considerable amounts of drama that is of no concern to me, but at the same time, I feel like I’m missing opportunities to engage others in dialog. This, to me, is lacking in the modern Western culture… with texting, email, the internet… people don’t often take the chance to speak face-to-face with other humans. How else are people, especially young people, going to learn to communicate with others in work, school and their personal lives? How else are people going to learn the nonverbal cues of communication that often is much more telling than their words?

Here’s what I’ve been quite introspective about as of late: How can I communicate best in a particular situation? Is it to not say anything, to share my opinion in a cautious and caring way, or is to be open and honest while considering the feelings of the person to whom I’m speaking? I’ve been trying these out in situations where I think they’ll best fit and overall I think I’m doing pretty well.

At work, where I have an abundance of time to think about anything and everything, I’ve essentially stopped talking. My work is such that chatting to make the time pass is common and people are regularly joking and sharing details of their lives. I have opted to stay out of these conversations, aside from the occasional lighthearted comment. This has an unfortunate side effect… the days DRAG on. I find myself watching the clock compulsively.

That is not to say that I have not had very deep and interesting talks with people at my job, because I most certainly have. But these discussions are during breaks or after the brunt of the work load has been completed. I enjoy these types of conversations more than any idle chit chat throughout the day could ever compare to.

I feel as if talking one on one with someone about higher level topics (and sometimes nothing more than a tee-shirt tan line) enables me to connect with those parts of communication that mean so much. Being able to share ideas and thoughts, even if they may not match my own, respectfully and thoughtfully is something I didn’t realize I was missing until I consciously brought more of it into my life.

Recently I saw a picture of what someone spray painted under a bridge. The words said “Fear is a liar”. This struck a deep chord with me because I am not immune from fear and it frequently rules my life. This is something that has made it often difficult to communicate with any degree of courage or strength. In a way, it’s become my new mantra and using those words has allowed me to overcome fear in a few situations where I needed to communicate courageously and clearly.

Anyway, this is what I’ve figured out so far in my quest: fear holds you back from being able to communicate directly and courageously, idle chatter is often nothing more than a time filler, finding people to share ideas with is crucial to Right Speech because it allows agreement and disagreement to happen and for me to act accordingly, and courage is a much larger part of communication and Right Speech than I ever imagined.

(http://www.soulschoolonline.com/2012/03/communications-perceptions-assumptions-oh-my/)

(http://inspiredwednesdays.blogspot.com/2012/01/fear-is-liar.html)

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