I have been considering fear lately and wondering what it is that causes us to be afraid of things. Some people are terrified of heights, some are terrified of the dark, and some are terrified of the water. Some people would rather jump off a cliff than speak publicly. For some, it is a spider on the wall, and for some, it is failure. Some people are afraid of trying something new, and some are simply afraid to die. Each of us has at least one potentially debilitating fear. Why?

The dictionary defines fear as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” So the root of all fears, then, is that we will be hurt — physically or emotionally — by whatever we fear. People are not afraid of heights; they are afraid that they will fall. People are not afraid of spiders, but afraid that it will feel creepy if it touches them or that it will bite them. People are not afraid of the water; they are afraid of drowning.

What if, instead of allowing ourselves to believe that we will be hurt by this thing, we chose to believe that it was beautiful or a chance that was worth taking? A change in perception might be all we need — not, perhaps, to conquer our fear, but to allow it to help us grow.

Here’s the thing: We are supposed to feel fear. Consider that for a minute. Without fear, we would not be able to survive. It alerts us to dangerous situations and forces us to consider their impact and make our way despite them. That’s right, fear is a good thing. But if it is holding us back too much, we need to question what it is we are actually afraid of in the first place and whether that fear is rational and manageable.

Fear can be a stepping stone to success or an amazing experience. Fear that keeps us from moving forward is just a wall that we need to scale. Accepting that yes, we may fall, and yes, we may fail, and yes, the stupid spider might bite us…but heeding the call to press on anyway to a new opportunity. The most successful people in the world were not unafraid, they just did things anyway. They took risks; they failed; they kept going. Embrace the fact that our bodies were designed to fear, and then move on past it.

The pure light in me honors and respects the pure light in all of you. Namaste.

Jennifer Russo