5 Options To Deal With Fear

Fear is the fog that creeps onto the roadway.  It clouds your vision.  You wonder if you should turn around and abandon your dreams or keep moving forward.  Here are five options to consider:

• Option #1:  Turn around.  If you do this, as soon as the fog dissipates, another foe appears -- your shadow of regrets.  As the sun sets on your life, the shadow grows larger and your greatest wish is that you faced fear when you had the opportunity.
• Option #2:  Freeze.  This option is hazardous because your inaction causes those who are following you to crash into you.
• Option #3:  Turn on the high beams.  This option focuses your attention on fear.  You can't see your hopes and dreams and become too discouraged to move forward.
• Option #4:  Turn on the low beams.  The road to your dreams is the only thing visible, even in the dense fog.  This is a popular option because it allows risk takers to move forward in spite of fear.
• Option #5:  Pray for the fog to vaporize.  Believers do this.  Visionaries master this.  The blind can see.  The deaf can hear.  The more you pray, the easier it is to face fear.  Even the fog knows it's powerless when you choose this option.

These last twelve months, I often asked myself, what is the worst that can happen?  The answers were sometimes scary:  homelessness, joblessness, loss of material possessions, not enough money to pay for my children's college, loneliness, etc.  There were some really foggy days.  Option #1 was tempting.  Option #2 was not on the table because I'm a man of action.  Option #3 caused me to lose sight of my vision and option #4 was difficult on days of zero visibility.  Option #5 is the only way to deal with fear, even when the worst does happen.

My shadow is in the right place -- behind me, as long as I always follow the Son, especially on the foggiest of days of my life when even my shadow wants to hide.