I want to speak about something that can be unsettling: fear.
No matter what we do, fear is part of life.
For some, it appears as small worries throughout the day.
For others, as anxiety or recurring anxiety attacks.
Fear takes many forms:
fear of starting or ending something,
fear of expressing what we feel,
fear of commitment, fear about money or health.
The list goes on.
To avoid these feelings, we develop different strategies:
we try to calm ourselves with positive thinking, gather reassuring information,
or do the opposite – ignore, postpone, or avoid.
But fear doesn’t disappear.
It always finds a way to return.
And yet, fear has an important role.
It keeps us alive.
Without it, we would be far more exposed to harm.
So why do we struggle with it so much?
Let’s take a moment and imagine an amusement park.
People stand in line and pay money
to go on rides designed to evoke fear.
And the more intense, the better.
So what is happening here?
Why does fear feel like suffering in daily life,
but like pleasure in that setting?
The difference lies in choice.
When we consciously allow ourselves to experience a certain energy,
we begin to feel its qualities.
When we resist it,
the experience becomes painful.
So what lives within fear?
There is excitement, intensity, movement, vitality, and sharpness.
These are qualities we would not want to lose.
In my clinical work, I meet fear in many forms – including my own.
Am I doing the right thing?
Will I be able to help?
What if I fail?
When I feel these, I know I am in the right place.
I breathe, allow the energy of fear to move through my body,
and stay, for a moment, in the place of not knowing.
From there, something begins to unfold.
The resonance with the client’s body is almost immediate,
and a shared movement begins.
We can call it fear.
Or we can call it vitality.