Day Nine of the 10 Days of Awe: Conquering Your Fears

What is a fear that you have and how has it limited you? How do you plan on letting it go or overcoming it in the coming year?

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. Ehrmann

I found this passage recently and was immediately transported back to my 13th birthday.  We sat down to dinner when my dad handed me this rolled up piece of paper.  When I opened it there was the Desiderata.  Little did I realize at that moment my dad was handing me a road map to his hopes and dreams for me.  Of course as a emerging adolescent I had no idea what all of this meant.  But in the course of the next 40 yrs I have been reminded of its value.

Fear is inevitable . Succumbing to its grip is optional. If you haven't responded to any of the prompts during the 10 Days, I challenge you to do this one--decide to let go of one fear.

And to get you started, I offer to you as my dad did to me, the Desiderata in its entirety.  Go out there and conquer your fears.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

© Max Ehrmann 1927

Thanks dad.  I love you.