As we get closer to Marathon Monday and the one year anniversary of Team McManus' running of the Boston Marathon, I thought I'd write a post about overcoming fear and summoning courage.
F E A R = false evidence appearing real
Fear - a block to steppin' out and going for our dreams. As my friend, Inez Bracy of "Over Fifty, Fine and Fancy" told me recently, we can learn fear and it can short circuit our actions. Our parents teach us how to be safe - don't touch the hot stove or you will get burned. But wanting to be safe can result in what Ricky Powell refers to on his Masterminds of Happiness community as a state of "contraction". When we view the world as a hot stove, it can short circuit our sense of happiness and well being.
I've known fear and I've known terror. I have transformed those beliefs with the power of God's Love. I am blessed to be surrounded by so many loving and supportive people. I know that I attracted them into my life because I peeled away the layer of fear and unveiled who I really am & meant to be. I summoned courage into my life.
Without courage, I never could have run 26.2 miles. Without courage, I never could have left my full time job to heal my life. Without courage, I would have missed out on so much of living and life. As a polio survivor, I was taught a lot of fear -- fear of falling and breaking a bone because it would be a complicated healing process, fear of testing my body's capabilities and fear to embrace winter because of cold intolerance. But in the winter of 2009, I wrote the poem
Courage - January 5, 2009
The fear of ice and snow and slush embedded in my soul
A training run in winter - the path to Being whole.
A winter scene - Jamaica Pond - a feast for eyes' delight
To witness nature's splendor and behold this glorious sight.
A leaf - a tiny dancer - skating free without a sound
God's breath directs her movements, as She guides her twirling 'round.
Families of ducks decide to walk or take a dip
A comedy of errors into icy water slip.
The branches now bejeweled with ice bend with loving Grace
Sparkling diamonds' anchor water's surface hold in place.
God's hand a glove of glistening snow hugs rocks along the wall
Their heads peek out reminding me I'm answering God's call.
A scene I'd never witness if I let my fear take hold
Courage triumphed, steppin' out with footsteps sure and bold.
Knowing that the pain subsides and Spirit can prevail
The Marathon is beckoning - through those miles I shall sail.
And if you need a little boost of courage do what Rodgers and Hammerstein recommend - Whistle a Happy Tune Go ahead and sing along --
For more inspiration, purchase a copy of my book "New World Greetings". Remember I donate 20% to Spaulding Rehab's International Rehab Center for Polio.
With all these wonderful events happening this Spring, why purchase a card that comes close to what you want to say. At New World Greeting Cards we create an original poem that breathes life into the words you want to say.
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