Fear

Excuse the quality of this photo. It was taken with my iPhone, but I hope it either makes you laugh, teaches you a little something or possibly both.

We spent one last weekend at the lake before summer break comes to an official close, therefore, I do not have an outfit of the day or any style inspiration for you ladies today. I promise to be back with our regularly scheduled program tomorrow. 

I must admit that sometimes it's nice to take a break from photo shoots, style posts and change things up a bit. It enables me grow as a writer, reflect on my thoughts and express feelings on the pages of my online diary that I have chosen to share with you.

You see, we all have things in our lives that make us cringe and want to shrivel up and die. Most of the time we can't do anything (except for prayer) to cure or calm us from the anxiety our fears create. For instance, I am deathly afraid of getting cancer, being robbed at gun point, my kids getting kidnapped and the death of family members. As I said, there isn't anything I can physically do to rid myself of these terrorizing thoughts because well, they aren't technically in my hands. Yes, I can take care of my body to minimize my chances of getting sick. I can carry pepper spray in case someone wants to pull out a gun. I can keep my eyes on my kids 24/7 and not let them out of arms reach. I can spend as much time with my loved ones so that when they are gone, I won't regret not spending as much time with them as I possibly could. 

Then there are those matters we CAN take into our own hands. I have voiced my fear of heights before. I freak out when my feet don't touch the ground. I don't like the feeling of not being in control of my foot steps or when gravity and I aren't working together like we should. Over the last several years I have slowly come out of my shell and faced my fight with two fists in the air.

I have strapped into seats for roller coaster rides, went para sailing over the ocean, zipped on a zip line hundreds of feet above land and leapt off a bridge this weekend, screaming like a little girl the whole 1.5 seconds down.

The notches I've added to my dare devil belt are liberating. Have all these antics made my fear of heights diminish? Heck no. Have my adventurous stunts helped me to believe more in myself? Most definitely. Have they been a reminder that I am the only person in control of my mind and I will not let fear override it? You betcha.

I guess the moral of this story is that sometimes you just have to go for it and take the leap. Face fear right in the eyes and tell it to take a hike.

Let's face it, if we let it control, consume and scare us off where would any of us be today? I am not just talking small potatoes here. I am talking big picture, as in life changing inventions, health care, technology, personal growth and so on so forth.

Figuratively speaking, jumping off a little bridge, in a little town into a little body of water really can make a difference sometimes. Just take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, close your eyes, cross your fingers, let out a scream and pray for the best. At the end of the day, that's all we can do, but if we DON'T do it at all, we will never know. Will we?

What bridge are you scared of jumping off? What's holding you back? Why haven't you made that jump, big or small? Think about it.