Thomas may ‘Live with Autism’ but I get surprised sometimes by how many of us are ‘Living with Fear’
Do you know there will be new friends not made, songs not sung, dances not danced, dreams not realised and goals not achieved, there will be laughs not laughed, questions not asked, there will be parties not attended and rooms not entered, there will be opinions not stated and statues updates not written, there will be sales not achieved and jobs not applied for, there will be hairstyles never tried and sequins never worn, there will sex not had, love not experienced, there will be places not travelled, there will be adventures not had, there will be speeches not made and mountains not climbed….
And after all of that, after all of that holding back and letting fear take control, well after all of that at the end of life we will not say… I am so glad I never got on the dance floor that night… I am so glad I never travelled to India like I always wanted too… I am so glad I never danced that night and took that risk… no you will not say that my friends!
I know fear can be that sick feeling in your stomach when you are about to try something out of your comfort zone, and sometimes it is not even hard to do!? I still feel it so often and yet I am up on stage doing something that is such a big fear for so many people! But you know what I now think when I get that feeling in my tummy… I think that is my sparkle and it is trying to get out!
I now embrace that feeling of fear and know that it means that I am living on the edge and about to step out of my comfort zone again and that is exciting and exhilarating.
Remember that the same chemicals are released into your system when you are excited as when you are scared… so I now process all fear as excitement.
Think about all those scary and exhilarating rides that people go on in Theme Parks, they are scary but they are also exciting and although there is a lot of screaming, people still hop off laughing (sometimes feeling a little ill!) and they are ready to go again!
Life and our experiences are sometimes like those rides, feel your fear, then do it anyway and enjoy the ride!
What are we scared of really… next time fear stops by, let’s go to the mirror and look at it and say,
“You know what, what I think of myself is far more important than what other people think and I have one life to live and I am not getting out of here alive, so get that hell out of my way because I got some living to do!”