Fear is the first enemy...

"Fear is the first enemy of love."

I posted a blog in December 2012 that began just this way. I remember the first time I read a variation of this quote and kind of getting offended by it. For some reason I just couldn't wrap my mind around the concept. Here I am over a year later and that phrase popped back into my head. Fear really is the first enemy of love...as well as a plethora of life's other great experiences.

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." ~ George Bernard Shaw 

At some point in our lives--perhaps even several points--we find a need to stop and reassess. Are we just plugging through our days going with the flow of the masses? Worse yet, are we directionless trying to find the meaning of it all?  Or are we truly creating the live that we want. Because it's not just about creating the life we want, it's about creating the person we want to be. It's defining ME.

Our dreams, desires, designs and decisions work in concert to create who we are. At any step in the process it may just stop from fear. What is it that you dream about daily and desire with every breath? Name just one desire that you have not designed into your life and made decisions to achieve. Is fear the reason for a break in the process? Fear of taking a chance? Of failure? Of getting hurt? Of being told no?

When we begin to turn our desires into designs for creating ourselves often fear is the preeminent detracting element. It requires us to do something different and that's scary. It shakes up the status quo of our existence. It shakes up what we think we already know to be true. Fear is the first enemy. It's the enemy of love, adventure, success, triumph, goals and ultimately creating ourselves.

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" ~ Robert H. Schuller

Fear is our conscience trying to keep us in check. It helps to prevent pain, suffering and disappointment. It's much easier to maintain the status quo, right? Think back to the top of this blog and remember why we're even in this process. We are in the throws of creating ourselves. The canvas is blank and we're afraid of the color choice.

Fear is indeed the first enemy of any amazing emotion we can experience in this life. If it were easy it would not likely be worth the effort. But despite all the fear and doubt, I believe it is absolutely worth every moment of effort to create yourself. It's worth it to experience true love, outrageous adventure, remarkable success, personal triumph and the highest goals. If you don't do this for yourself then who will?

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." ~ Andre Gide