Harvesting thyme. Lillian Lake photo

One afternoon last week, I was working with my herbs. This year I have a significant bounty of sage, thyme, oregano, lemon balm and others. Most of it I have harvested and dried. The constant rain has thwarted my attempts to gather and dry efficiently. Then again, the lesson of working with herbs is to learn and have patience with that learning. As I prepared thyme for drying that particular day, I would know its lesson of courage.

Overcoming fear requires courage. Fear is often subtle, and we are likely unaware of our courage at those times. An example would be when we fear the unseen under our bed in the darkness of night. Eventually, we learn there was never anything there but our imagination. Or when babies fear that if their parents are out of sight, they are gone forever. As our awareness of life grows, our ability to take on fear grows.

Such times that need the courage to overcome fear might be reporting wrongdoing, not knowing how it will land with the listener. Or when we stand up for our beliefs despite other people’s attempts to silence our voice. I have grown more by overcoming fear and the risk of being wrong than giving in to fear and having regrets.

There’s much talk about having freedom.  Real freedom is freedom from fear because fear breeds control. It informs our decisions and stops us from being our true selves. I’m not talking about aggression here, so criminal acts are not an example of freedom.

Freedom from fear is when we choose to release what limits us from being all we require to self-identify with who we think we are. This means we create our lives built from what rings authentic rather than from the fear of making mistakes.

Examples of this might be hanging on to a rogue relationship, changing our jobs, or standing for justice against adversity. These situations create our life but not our reality. We can let go of any experience and our willingness to engage with it.

Make a list of your fears. This list will allow you to look at and release them intentionally rather than fighting them out of existence. This creates healing down to the cellular level and raises your vibration. List everything from the smallest to the biggest. Only you can tell where they should fall on your list.

Next, make a new list that completes this sentence:  “I fear (fill in the blank) preventing me from being free.” As I mentioned, it may be a situation, relationship, or health issue — whatever comes to mind. Name them. Address them. Decide how to face them. When you look at the list, remind yourself of things you’ve already overcome.

We are free to be anything our heart desires. It’s a lot of work to go deep within to learn who we are and what we want. Face your fears, and tell yourself lovingly that you are perfect. You are the love you have been waiting for.

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