Allowing Fear To Enter

“Courage is not the absence of fear, it's to feel the fear and face it anyway.”
― Jeanette Coron

fear
ˈfir/

noun
plural noun: fears
1. unpleasant emotion caused by belief someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. "drivers threatening to quit jobs in fear after cabby's murder"
synonyms: terror, fright, fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, trepidation, dread, distress

verb
3rd person present: fears
1. be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening. "he said he didn't care about life so why should he fear death?"
synonyms: be afraid of, be fearful of, be scared of, dread, live in fear of, be terrified of

I do not fear clowns.

Happy go-lucky Circus clowns, or the scariest of terror movie politicians. Clowns are not on my list of fears. I have a brother who had a slight phobia of them and the guy in the video below. To me clowns are people who simply put on too much make-up.

Any fears I have are mine and have either been faced, dealt with or accepted for what they are. It is not to say there are new fears which come along and attempt to get in my way. Fears old or new, come and go just like everyday circumstance.

But what is fear?

Fear "is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason."

Your fear of clowns could be a fear of drowning, fear of failure, fear of success or fear of all things brought to your computer screen through either the news or social media. Fear keeps you from moving forward towards a new place in life.

Approaching the fear.

The dark alley, the crowd of people or any circumstance which is labeled as a fear needs to be confronted or at least resolved in some manner.

So take a trip to Applebee's Restaurant for clown night and try to enjoy the Double-Glazed Baby Back Ribs while the clown makes a balloon animal.

And stay inspired my friends!

Laughing With God

"Laughter connects you with people. It’s almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you’re just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy." — John Cleese

There are plenty of news stories from around the globe, each and every day when we wonder the why and how of it all. We can run to many sources of reason because many of the issues confronting daily life use many different reasons. There are times when it is pure circumstance.

I search for those reasons including places within my own faith.

There, I just brought up the subject and notice I did not say religion. There is a difference between the two with plenty of good articles and discussions available for you to read. I fully understand there are many belief systems out there some which do not believe in a God.

In times of no need; do we still believe in God?

An example of simple daily life is our interaction with other people. During those periods in our life when things are going well and need is of no consequence, we can laugh with our friends and enjoy the day. The tendency is to take for granted our friendships when things are going good. We rush then to find those same people when we are in need.

In times of no need, do we still believe in others?

It is here I believe my God has both a serious and comical side. In the best of times, like a good friend, we can laugh about things together. We can share a good joke and forget the day's problems. But the relationship can be taken for granted.

In times of need, my friend is there for me.

Regina Spektor sang a song which spoke to our need during both the good and bad times. It tells of our independent human spirit that still has dependence upon each other. To laugh with each other, with our God, and find our way through those times when reasons cannot explain the news of the day.

Regina Spektor - official website

Laugh with others during both the good and bad times. Be there at all times for others and they will be there for you.

Stay inspired my friends!

For All The Blue Tarps

Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

“Sometimes it's easy to walk by because we know we can't change someone's whole life in a single afternoon. But what we fail to realize it that simple kindness can go a long way toward encouraging someone who is stuck in a desolate place.” ― Mike Yankoski

My wife and I were recently in Los Angeles visiting our daughter's family. We had a great time visiting them and also with a few of my relatives. I will admit that Atlanta has a ways to go in the pure amount of traffic which exists in the Los Angeles area.

During our travels through out the L.A. area, we noticed a high level of what can only be termed homelessness. Current estimates as of February 2015 indicate over 44,000 homeless people in L.A. county alone.

The signs of this are the many blue tarp villages along and under overpasses of the freeways. But this is not confined to Los Angeles, every state, every country, every place on this great earth has homelessness.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development

2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress

I get it, there are many reasons for homelessness in this world.

Poverty, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, poor physical or mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, gambling, family and relationship breakdown including domestic violence, physical and/or sexual abuse. And yes, choice by some.

All of this said, we cannot individually solve this huge problem. It is something which cannot simply be ignored by driving faster down the freeway or looking the other way. It is an issue that can bring down society eventually. The cost either to ignore or treat the symptoms will require hard, tough and expensive choices. None of those costs am I here to debate.

What we can do though is not turn a blind eye.

We can offer a friendly smile, maybe a cup of coffee, a meal or some small chance of hope.

I can be ridiculed for the simple minded ideas but hope is something which can spark another day, another opportunity or another possibility in the eyes of someone facing homelessness, poverty or where a next meal might come from.

The human spirit is to have for and want compassion from others. If we can offer that spark, maybe we can ignite something greater. The something greater might just be the social, political or human solutions which turn someone's life around.

Stay inspired my friends!

Time As It Passes

As time passes by....

"Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once." - Anonymous

There is so much we want to happen here and now. We want the special someone to appear, that new home or car, kids or high-level position at work. We want everything and all in a matter of moments.

Yet we know patience and time will take place before we get any of it.

Then there are days when so much occurs to us. In the quote given above, it continues by saying "... lately it doesn't seem to be working." This is the part where all of the turmoil or pain seems to enter in.

We go through days when all of the world seems to be falling in upon us. Down deep though we know time will pass and all will be well once again. But it certainly does not seem to be the case when you are in the thick of it. The existence of time has a way of working for us and at other times against us.

Time is just that, time. You draw a long line and place a dot on it to mark your location.

Our journey in life is a human one and time passes on to the next event or events. Know the passing of time will change our circumstance and condition. Whatever is going on in your life at this moment, time will pass and things can change.

Stay inspired my friends!