Monday, July 10, 2006

Transforming Fear


A while ago I was working through Sark's Make Your Creative Dreams Real. She has an exercise where you write out all your fears and then tear them up into tiny pieces and let them go. Instead of getting rid of the pieces, I wanted to do something with them, something transformational. I started to glue them on a page in my journal and this little cutie emerged. Every since she showed up, I feel a bit differently about fear. She's just the scared little part of me that wants to feel safe. And it's okay to want to feel safe, in fact, to want to be safe. It's just that she's so wee and so scared that she can be, well, oversensitive.

So when she reaches out and tugs at my sleeve, I look around. First, I check to see if there really is any danger because sometimes she's right on target. Maybe it is smart to wait, be quiet or go in another direction. But if the coast is clear or if it looks scary but also kind of exciting, I remind her that we're smart and resourceful and can handle the challenges along the way. And the best thing is that the more I show her I'm right about that, the less she needs to pull on my sleeve.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

what a gorgeous idea! I love Sark's latest book - I was just reading it for a second time a few days ago. So much wisdom, I feel like I'll be learning those lessons my entire life ...

Unknown said...

Hi Jamie,
It looks like you have some unsightly SPAM stuck on your comments.

Thanks for your wonderful comments on my blog. What a treat. I like your post on fear. I think it was Wayne Dyer who said that you can render all emotional reactions into two categories: love and fear. Overly simplified, for sure. But it does expand my understanding of the breadth of fear.

Also, you are sooooooo lucky to have your sister in town. I'm far away from my siblings, and I miss them so.

Suzie Ridler said...

Oh Jamie, she is so adorable! Yes, I understand her more too now, my little fear ghostie loves to "boo" me a lot. Wow, how transformational art can be for thoughts and ideas. This is just the most amazing idea and piece of art. Awesome.

Shannon said...

Great pic and what a wonderful reinterpretation of Fear. I love the image of her tugging at your sleeve! Brave post Jamie :)

Anonymous said...

My favorite Sark quote is from the first book: "Most fears are made up of future thinking with a side order of What If."

meghan said...

Hi Jamie! I'm finally back in the blogging world & I was SO happy to read this post. What a great great idea - I hope you don't mind of I make my own wee fear angel - I think that making it into a little helper is a wonderful twist to make your fears more managable!

liz elayne lamoreux said...

what a fantastic response to this exercise in SARK's book (you should send her this post if you haven't already).

Anonymous said...

Came here from Megg's. LOVE this idea! Brilliant! :) And congratulations on quitting your job to pursue your dreams!