There was this one day when I got an invitation to attend a meeting. I was thinking about going until I saw that someone I was once very close to was going to be there. For a moment, I had thought about not going. I found myself making all these decisions out of fear. Fear of what they would say, what I would do, how we would react, and the scenario continued. Then I had to stop myself and ask myself what was I afraid of. Where was that fear coming from? Why was I putting that negative energy out there into the universe? Why was I thinking negative things about others or myself? It is true, I was not saying anything negative about others, or myself but I was thinking them.
So I took a deep breath, released the fear, and responded that I would indeed be at the meeting. I knew it was important for me to go for so many reasons. One was that I needed to move beyond my fear of being around someone who I no longer spoke with. Another was that I needed to not block myself from being blessed by others or from sharing my gifts with others.
So I went to the meeting and on the way home, I felt so humbled. I had arrived at the meeting late, my bus did not come on time, and then I had trouble getting into the building as the handicap accessible door was locked. Upon arriving, the meeting had already begun and people were comfortably seated around the table. Then much to my surprise, the one who made space for me to place my wheelchair, was the ones who I had allowed myself to be nervous about seeing. They stood up, invited me to sit next to them, and greeted me with a hug.
As I would share my thoughts and the meditations of my heart, they were the first to affirm me and thank me for my sharing. As the meeting progressed, I found myself being increasingly grateful that I had come. Not just because I had moved into and through my fear, but also because I had the opportunity to experience so much love and to share my gifts with others.
Our fears are only as powerful as we allow them to be. When we move into them instead of avoiding them, we deflate their power and reclaim our power for ourselves. Fear is like this fire-breathing dragon that stands outside the door of our residence. As long as we are afraid to open the door and confront the dragon, then it continues to have power over our lives. When we decide to open the doors and invite the dragon in, then we reclaim the power. Yesterday, I opened the door, invited the dragon in, handed hir the remote control and a cold drink and left. When I got back, the dragon was gone. I guess now I know what to do if a dragon ever comes back into my spirit.