Choosing Love Over Fear

Image by silviarita from Pixabay
It's hard to know what to say in times like this. My whole life, I've had the privilege of living in a peaceful country where I was generally unafraid—occurrences such as shootings or terrorist attacks simply weren't a part of our lives in an immediate way, existing only on the periphery of awareness and many miles away. Now, they are on our doorstep. Now, the need for vigilance is beginning to creep into our lives too. 

What I'd like to stress right now is that it is so tempting for this vigilance to morph into fear. I'm urging you to not let this happen. It's natural to question our safety and look for protection outside of ourselves when these things happen, but we need to start realizing that we have far more power over our circumstances than we think. Clinging to something (whether it's a person, an institution, escapist tendencies, religion, ...) out of fear just generates more fear (Lessons from Scorpio 101). And, in the words of old Master Yoda: "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate ... leads to suffering." 

We need to recognize that we have a choice. Becoming more conscious of the energy we're putting out through our mindset is what creates the potential for positive change—the possibility to shift from a mindset of fear to one of LOVE. Now, I'm not suggesting that this is easy; when tragedy occurs, it's far easier (and, some might argue, less naive) to assume the worst of humanity. To demonize and experience the world as threatening. But the protective arms of love and the sense of safety it generates are ours to embody whenever we like. They are already within us. "All" we need to do is learn to recognize it and shift our perspective towards it. It may not change the potential dangers (although, some might argue that even that is possible over time), but it does change how we encounter them. 

So, do what it is you need to do; be vigilant. Take your precautions and say your prayers. But do it with the warmth of love in your hearts, and not the divisiveness of fear. 




Comments

  1. DiwakarNovember 27, 2020 at 6:00 AM

    Hello Stephanie. I am a Pastor from Mumbai India. I am glad to stop by your profile on the blogger and the blog post. I am also blessed and feel privileged and honoured to get connected with you as well as know you and about your interest. Very thoughtful post on Choosing Love over Fear. I have enjoyed going through it. I love getting connected with the poeple of God around the globe to be encouraged strengthened and praying for one another. I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 41yrs in this great city of Mumbai a city with a great contrast where richest of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. We also encourage young and the adults from the west to come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. We would love to have you come to Mumbai to work with us during your vacation time. I am sure you will have a life changing experience. Looking forward to hear from you very soon, God's richest blessing on you your family friends also wishing you a blessed and a Christ centered rest of the year 2020. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede

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