closing thoughts... When I think of fear, I often think of something physical, like my physical body being hurt. Uncertainty feels more like an internal, emotional thing, like when my mind spins over and over when I’m working through something or am in a transition. It’s the parts of life I can’t quite “see” with my literal (or figurative) eyes, yet I work soooo hard to see them. This tug of war between external and internal processing reminds me of a ride at an amusement park (remember those?). When I look at the first climb of the track, my body begins to doubt whether this is safe and fear sets in. However, that fear is driven by uncertainty because I’ve never done this ride before, and I likely just waited an hour to ride it, uncertainty building good solid roots in my body. Then fear takes over again as I go through the motions of following the instructions for the ride, putting away my belongings, and what feels like, leaving my safety in the hands of ride engineers and operators. Almost always the fear subsides as certainty comes to fruition… I see what we are doing, I see where the ride is taking me. I begin to trust even if I can’t see what’s around the next corner or twist. I’m on the ride, and my body is doing the “thing,” I’ve taken the step, the action so the uncertainty doesn’t seem as frightening. So, is action the antidote to fear and uncertainty? Is surrender? Something else?
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