Caught in the trap of comfort and safety
I was working with one of my beloved clients yesterday who is going through major change and releasing so much that no longer serves. One thing that's been stopping her from the change she desires is the fear that she'll lose her "identity."
So we went there. I encouraged her, "Let's go straight through to the fear. What will happen to your identity if you make this change?"
With a deep breath of relief and knowing in her body she realized, "Ah, this change won't truly alter who I am in my life and community." A simple yet profound revelation.
Fear is a tricky thing. We are so easily stopped in our tracks by all the things our imaginations believe might go wrong if we follow the call of our hearts.
What happens when you think the fear through?
You realize that many of your fears have no footing in reality.
And when you're able to decipher the fears that are real from the ones that are imagined, there is an ease to letting go.
And when you let go you get to come home to what's true.
And when you come home to what's true you get to live in the freedom and mystery of your soul's unfolding.
What's funny is that it's genuinely scary to consciously work through fear.
It's not for the faint of heart. It takes guts and it takes trust.
But you know what I think is even scarier than consciously working with your fear?
Being trapped in the delusion that it's "easier" to become stagnant in what you tell yourself is safe and comfortable.
I played the game of complacency until I realized it was slowly killing me. And I don't want that for anyone.
From the Comfort of Home to our Soul-Stirring Adventure in Hawaii
We spent the first leg of our Hawaiian adventure a couple of weeks ago in a yurt in the jungle. It wasn't the "easy, safe, or comfortable" option. But it was a life giving, magical, and transformative adventure for our little family!
We arrived on the Big Island in the dark of night and Google Maps wasn't going to help us find this yurt in the jungle. We had to follow the exact directions our host had given us. We got to a point where there weren't road signs. It was us, the stars, the dirt road, and the sounds of the jungle all around us.
We used the map we were given. We journeyed through the mystery, through the darkness. We trusted that we'd find our way.
And when we woke up to the morning light the next day, this is the magical place we found ourselves in.
My husband recently discovered this beautiful song by Andrew Bird and he played it for me as I lay in our tree house loft in our yurt.
I gazed at the sky through the domed skylight and cried for the joy and magic that lives far beyond our small-minded thinking, fears, and rationalities for staying "safe."
Curiously, this song is called "Yawni at the Apocalypse."
I laid there listening to this beautiful song that felt like the magnificence of a gentle sunrise and was struck with this thought.
"My worst fears, even fear of something like the apocalypse, maybe it's all imagined. Maybe it's all in my head? Maybe what I think of as a terrible risk is the beginning of something bigger and more beautiful than my logical mind can comprehend?"
Okay, so you may be laughing at me now and that's okay. :) But here's what I walked away with listening to this song in my yurt on the Big Island of Hawaii:
Whatever the future brings, whether it is joy or suffering, I get to be the magic of this moment now.
If you'd like to listen to Andrew Bird's song, click below.
I would love to hear from you! Share in the comments below, are you ready to let go of the delusion of comfort and safety so you can live what is right and true for you? I know I'm asking a big question here but is there really any time to waste?
To the truth that serves your highest good,
