Life Shrinks or Expands in Proportion to One's Courage

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage-Anais Nin

I find so much truth in this simple quote. Close your eyes and picture a baby and their first steps...what occurs after those first steps changes the direction of everyone around them. When my children started walking in opened a world of discovery, adventure, joy, pain, tears, excitement and fun. In the world beyond crawling or rolling around like a little drunken ball of joy there is a life waiting to be discovered.

I can look back and see so many moments in life that I let fear close in on me and almost paralyze me. Ever since the birth of my 3rd child I have had an intense fear of heights...bridges, elevators, piers...if it is higher than a deck I'm freaking out. I was driving in Washington in 2005, I made a couple of wrong turns and ended up driving across the Puget sound bridge into Gig Harbor. I didn't realize I was about to go over a bridge until I was ON the bridge with nowhere to go. My body completely froze. I was so scared I almost just stopped the car in the middle of the bridge! I had a brief thought in my head of " don't be THAT woman on the news!" I had nowhere to go but straight. It took every ounce of power I had to keep going.

My kids and I made it across and we saw a beautiful island and I will never forget the water and the beach and the sun. I remember that what I saw was more magnificent that anything I've seen before or since. It was truly worth the fear I felt and I crossed back over the bridge without the fear I had felt because I knew life would go on and I was made better because I conquered my fear.

If we go through life yielding to our fears we would simply lay there. We wouldn't even stand. It takes courage to walk, to talk, to run, to think and to love. I've spent my life conquering fears without even realizing it and had I not I would not be living I would be waiting. I let go of my fear of another heartbreak and learned to love again. I let go of my fear of would I be a good mom and have 5 beautiful children. It is in letting go of fear that we truly find the life God wants us to live.

We can take comfort in the walls of our home and be just fine. We can live our lives vicariously through the people on tv. We can spend our days waiting to die because the opinions of others is to hard to take. The heights of the bridge are to high to handle. The fear of love is too risky. The fear of difficult...too easy...too much...too little. No matter what you look at in life there is someone who has fear in regards to it. We can take comfort in the four walls of our home and never have to worry we will experience any of it.

...or we can master it. Imagine life with the mastery of all fear. Imagine a life where you weren't scared of losing everything but only could see what you would gain if you did it. Imagine skydiving, swimming with sharks, falling in love and starting a family. Imagine walking into an office and landing a job. Starting your dream business...starting your dreams in general. Imagine a life where if you took strength in your own joy, you could accomplish anything.

That life exists now! Life doesn't have to be an all or nothing ride...but it has to be a something ride. You can live in the four walls of your own fears for the rest of your life and find comfort there or you can expand your life by finding your courage and follow it like a northern star. It truly is that magical. Just like a northern star shines and people follow, let your courage guide you into a life of infinite possibilities. Let go of your fears, find courage and live.