Always do What You Are Afraid to do. Really.

Always do what you are afraid to do.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Once upon a time we were all kids being shuttled off to any manor of school, to learn, study, and at the end of the year, pass.

Often the question would pop into our minds, “how will I use this in the real world”.  We were looking for some meaning behind our studies, some way to practially apply what we learned to the bigger space beyond the four walls of our classroom.

Somewhere along the road to being grown-ups, that thought of applying what we read in a book vanished.  It’s like we were desensitized to the written lessons of others.  Things in books were for reading, discussing, maybe even jotting down a note or two, and then to be forgotten.

I have a whole collection of self-help books which I’ve dutifully poured over, containing highlighted pertinent text, and vowed to put into practice…only to forget the lessons of the author a week later.

But life isn’t like school.  You don’t just learn things for the test.  Eventually the need to apply what has been learned will rear its ugly head.  Or bite one in the ass as we repeat the same mistakes over and over and over again. 

Knowledge is power.

Applied knowledge is the key to controlling the universe.

Well maybe not controlling.  More like grabbing a ride on the next comet and whipping around the stars for a few laps.

(I love space.  It’s something I studied in school without ever thinking “why?”)

That is where I am at today.  At the applying phase of my life. With little reminders and hand written notes popping out at me from the fridge, the computer monitor, the candy jar, even my tablet has decided to get into the act.

Inspirational words like Ralph’s reminding me that fear boils down to one and only major thought:

I can’t handle it

 And that causes a chain reaction that starts with “I can handle it” and on through “I can do it” and the final “I will do it”.

Giving up on your goal because of one setback is like slashing your other thee tires because you got a flat.

~ Unknown

Husband #2 still scares me.  But I scare him too.  And when I think, “I can’t handle it”, I step back, grab the tail of the nearest comet and swing around a bit.

Then I come back to Earth and realize that every opportunity, every interaction, every email, every phone call, every moment is a chance to apply what I’ve learned about myself and to be the best person I can be.  Not just for one person, but to show my best to the world at large.

I do it all for me.  Not to impress anyone else or to put up a public face.  I do it because that’s who I am deep down….generous, caring, concerned, funny, loyal, smart, creative, and dedicated.  To be anything else is to be unsustainable.

I have lots of love to give and I’ve noticed that when I give it away, I get more in return. 

‘Tis cookie baking season, which means my love goes into butter and frosting and sprinkles and even packaging all of the delicious treats.  I don’t know many of the people who get my cookies…I bake for my church and they distribute them to the shut-ins… but knowing that there’s someone out there getting a decorated cookie from my kitchen lifts me up just a little bit higher. 

Maybe that recipient would feel a little bit of my love coming through.