The Fear Factor

I have a friend whose husband, being the insightful man he is, who whenever she is anxious or afraid of something, always asks her "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" Once she gives him her answer he then replies, "Well if fear is the only thing stopping you, pretend its not there and do what it is you really desire in your heart.

Isn't it funny how fear and worry can often hold us hostage, so much so that often we let golden moments of opportunity pass us by.

All because of fear.

And sometimes (if I'm to be honest), I don't really know what it is I'm afraid of.
I only know how I feel.

Well, yesterday I finally accomplished step one of a many step program. Following the encouragement and advice of many of you, I created this blog page.

Now I know the sky isn't going to crack open and the heavenly choir won't break out in a round of melodic Hallelujahs, but for me this was a big step.

I know in our technological advanced society, this is no big deal anymore. Children have blog pages and almost everyone I know has some type of web presence in one way or another.

But for me....... this is a big deal and I don't want the moment to pass without recognizing the significance of it.
I think I do that too often. Let a moment pass without realizing that it was a turning point or at the very least a moment of great significance.

Often I have hesitated to do a blog or web page because I was just plain afraid. Afraid of rejection. Afraid of being so exposed. Afraid of failing. Afraid of not having anything to write about. Afraid of being afraid.

But I finally realized that fear isn't something that should immobilize me, but rather something to empower and motivate me to do something.

And in a moment of clarity, I realized that by letting fear hold me back, I was the only thing standing in my way of following my heart and pursuing my writing dreams.

Suddenly I understood and grasped hold of the fact that I owed it to someone very important to at least try.

Me.

And if in my trying, I did fail, so what?

I can at least take comfort from the fact that I did something.


And in that way I won't have failed at all.


So with fear still present, (but at least taking a back seat), I'm moving forward. Forward in my writing and expressions to the world.

And I appreciate each of you for helping me on this journey. The journey of finding and claiming Valerie's voice to a world she was once afraid of.

And its only the beginning!