Midweek Pause—Fear

Photo: Margaret Adie

“If we get deeply in touch with the present, we can touch the past as well and transform it.”

—Thich Nhat Hahn, You Are Here

Consider: Cleaning up past wounds and fears doesn’t have to involve an excavation team. When we can be fully present to our fears, lovingly accepting and acknowledging their presence, the healing begins. It continues with each mindful breath.

Realize that every fear we feel today has its roots in our past. By being conscious and mindful to each fear when they rise up within we can begin to heal our past.

Who might you become without your fear?

Prepare: Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us to sit with our wounds and fears as they arise at any given moment. Saying, “I am here for you” to the fear that arises, just as you would say to a friend or loved one that needed your support.

As it fully surfaces, say out loud to that fear, “I am here for you, I will be here for you all day.” Acknowledge that you are no longer this person from your past. You have transformed and continue to transform moment to moment with each breath in the present moment.

The minute that fear arises there is a part of us that wants to jump and run. Stay with it. Touch it gently with each breath.  Stay a few more breath cycles than you feel comfortable. That urge to dash may just dissipate… or maybe not. Try this again tomorrow and the next day….just keep coming back.

Do: When you feel an old fear or painful emotion arise today or later this week, make a date with it as you would an old friend and hear it out. Sit in silence and say, “I am here for you.”