A Tarantula Living Its Life As A Tarantula
It takes courage to see through intimidation.
There’s a real danger that Yemen will fall to al-Qaida, and their President Saleh uses this to try and control people through fear. The people’s choice: repressive regime or the bogeyman?
In spite of this potential terror, there are those who no longer are willing to be repressed. And they don’t believe these are the only choices.
Tawakkol Karman, a female Yemeni activist and writer reported: “We cannot let the bogeyman of al-Qaida and extremism be used to stall historic change in our country; Saleh invokes this threat in an attempt to cling to power, as if he is the only one capable of bringing stability and tackling terrorism. It would be foolish to believe his lies.”
It reminds me of the empty warning, “no one will ever love you like I do.” Settle for less or be left with something worse or nothing.
Are you afraid of living your dream?
What if you try and don’t succeed?
What-if-the-worse-happens is a tune that plays like a broken record on the shadowy grooves of fear.
Here’s a mishmash of some of my clients what-ifs: “If I fail, I’ll end up penniless and ashamed, living under a bridge with my dog in a soggy cardboard box, scorned by family and friends saying, ‘I told you so.’”
What what-if influences you not to live your dreams? What are the odds it will happen?
As Mark Twain said, “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”
You’re not born with fear. You learned it.
The movie The Tale of Despereaux is a lesson on how to train an optimistic mouse to be mousy. (Spoiler alert – they didn’t succeed.)
The Mother instructed: “You can’t be a mouse if you don’t learn to be afraid… There are so many wonderful things in life to be afraid of – if you just learn how scary they are.”
The timid older brother adds: “Sometimes they just need to see the older ones do it. No one starts out afraid.”
Guidance given to the parents: “He won’t be afraid unless you allow him to be afraid.”
What are you afraid of?
Controlling others through trying to shut them up doesn’t just happen on the other side of the world. We do it to ourselves.
We’re all bullied by limiting perspectives and illusions that we believe are true.
For example, do you avoid any of these?
- Confrontation – so you steer clear of people and situations?
- Contacting someone and being rejected – so you procrastinate?
- Telling the truth – so you tell little lies as a cover up?
- Taking action to live your dream – so you settle for existing rather than living?
Avoidance is another way you terrorize yourself. It’s a way of shutting you up and shutting you down from really living by keeping you in your place.
It’s time to speak up and be heard. LISTEN to your heart and soul.
If you want others to listen to you, start by listening to yourself!
Here are seven steps to help you LIVE your life:
- Breathe deeply in a relaxed way.
- Write your ideal life.
- Write what your life is like right now.
- Ask your soul for clear communication.
- What steps can you take to align your ideal and what is?
- Take consistent action – even if it’s one small step at a time.
- Choose to make changes gently, with grace and ease.
The answers may differ from what you now think.
At first they may not make sense. You may glimpse a piece rather than the whole puzzle. You may see an image rather than words.
Don’t judge them. You’re opening communication and learning your language. If you’re not sure what the answers mean, ask again.
Take a moment now.
Ask your soul to speak up: LOUDLY so you can hear; CLEARLY so you understand without a shadow of a doubt.
The time to be afraid of the bogeyman is gone.
A rose proudly shares its beauty, even though its life is short. A tarantula boldly lives its life for what it is – a tarantula.
It’s time to live your life to the fullest. Empower yourself by asking your soul to speak up – and listen.
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