F – Fear

 

These are very short extracts from Susan E. Schwartz and my recently released book ‘Aging & Becoming ~ A Reflective Enquiry’. Page numbers are given. Susan E. Schwartz is SES, I am SS and italicised. This is from Chapter ‘Fear & Fulfilment’.

SS: When I am assailed by fearful feelings, I realise that they are often the spur that shakes me out of my langour and torpor. It is not easy sitting with them. Yet, by virtue of sitting and being in that fearful place, another kind of awareness may emerge creating a slight shift. And I wonder what fear actually is? Is it an absence of love? Or the opposite of love? pg 50 

SES: Paradoxically, fear can promote fulfilment. It pushes re-membering what we lost, want and need. Being aware of fear gives pause, a place to consider the destruction turned against ourselves. … As older women, we might find a way through the fear, uncovering the facades of the of the false self, finally to unveil the real. pg 51

‘The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear’.

Aung san sun Kyi

24 Comments on AtoZ Blog Challenge F Fear

  1. For me aging too brings fear; fear of sickness, fear of future, fear of death – whether I would complete my responsibilities as a mother, wherein I want to see my daughter living independent life and managing and evolving herself finding her own purpose in life….. I deal with these fears with faith and trust in the divine… I recall my past as to how I managed to deal with my fears and walk this distance and i believe that faith has played a great role and also given me a sense of comfort that all will be well.

    One verse comes to my mind from the bible that says”perfect love casts all fear out ” In a way fear could be replaced by love… 🙂 need to reflect a little more:) I like the quote “you rarely achieve finality… so true.. Thanks for sharing !!

    • Thanks Genevive for coming by. You voice the fears of many. I want to leave this life with no unfinished business, to see my sons, partners, friends and other family being at peace and fulfilled in the world and especially in themselves. May your faith continue – you are blessed to have such strong faith.

  2. Hi Susan – Fear can be frightening … we don’t know what the future holds, what and why the fear is being projected – somehow we need to step beyond and realise that fear isn’t the end – just a nasty blip at that time. It can drag us down, or let us escape in our own time … fear is just horrid and cruel … as so often not caused by oneself. cheers Hilary

    http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/g-is-for-goose-gobbling-or-otherwise.html

    • Too true Hilary – it can hold us in its paralysing grip. And be projected as you say. Please G.d may it just be a blip world wide … in its way it can also be addictive in that sometimes we prefer to be in that collective grip rather than face up to ourselves. But, life is pretty fearful making much of the time. Cheers to you, hope you’re having an excellent Sunday. Susan

  7. Dear Susan, Great finishing quote! Two years ago I climbed “Hellveyn” a mountain in Cumbria, UK and whilst at the summit I sat down and wrote as many of my fears as I could onto a page in my walking notebook … ripped out the page, rolled it up and deeply embedded it into the wall of the seating area behind me. These days wherever I become fearful I say to myself … ah I’ve left my fears at the top of the mountain, and that reassures me as I remember the climb, the endless rain and not being able to see, due dense to hill fog that day, more than eight feet ahead for a couple of hours or so while we sat and waited until it was time to get up and carry on … alongside memories of incredible joy, huge fulfilment and immeasurable pride for finally reaching the mountain’s summit.

    Now “Hellveyn” at 900 m is no “Kilimanjaro” at almost 6000 m by any stretch of the imagination, and still as I read your excellent “In Praise of Lilith” book last week, in particular of your journey up that mighty mountain I read in awe, wonder and admiration! These journeys are always dangerous, incredibly demanding, not just physically. Journeys where time and time again we confront ourselves, especially our fears, and deep terrors … and yet in doing so, you’re right, we remember “what we lost, want and need!” I have always loved Susan Jeffers book title, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway!” … I turn to it often when anxious. Thank you for this wonderful post today and for inspiring this wandering poet to further integrate her ego, persona and shadow. Hope the blog challenge goes well and will catch up with you on my return. Blessings always, Deborah.

    • Thanks Deborah for coming by. How well you describe your journey up Hellveyn mountain. It reminded me of the climb up Kilimanjaro, as did mine of yours! Those mountains we climb (and get down again) take on different shapes and forms and can be a lousy partnership, unfulfilled dreams – any manner of situations in which we find ourselves –

      What an excellent way to write them down and then stick them deeply in the wall. Is that page still there I wonder – literally, not metaphorically 🙂

      Happy travelling! Still to get to your Tarot post – I will, now ..

  8. I’ve never stopped to consider what fear actually is. It’s a fascinating question. I think I’m going to be pondering that over the next few days. Thank you, Susan. 🙂

    • Good luck in your thinking/feeling about it Sara. Its source can be so amorphous, even ambivalent. Thank you for coming by…

  9. As for fear, I usually try to replace it with Love and being Open… trusting fear at times but asking each time if it’s truly reasonable or not

    • Love & being open is a good replacement when as you say you’ve figured it out. How many of us do question its origins to determine its legitimacy or not. Thanks Beth for coming by ..

  10. Yes, finding a way OUT of fear is a challenge as fear for me is like being tossed into a deep, dark black hole. I can either stay and suffocate or find a way to escape and breathe again. Fear doesn’t seem to get easier as we age. However, this is where Passivity and Proactive come into the play.

    • Hi Gwynn, yes, fear can be that deep dark hole and the focus to move out of it is a great help. I don’t get the passivity though, the proactive I do – though fear can be immobilising sometimes.

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