“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho

Sometimes fear can become so completely overwhelming, that it steals our breath and tosses us down to one side.

And sometimes fear can freeze us directly into our place—where we believe that nothing may happen in this space of non-doing.

But always, and everyday, and as is the case with all things— fear must ultimately be faced, and never hidden from, so that we may crush that barrier that often keeps us away from the things we wish and want most for in our lives.

Sometimes, it may seem to be the better of all ideas to stay tucked away in our beds and snugly under those sheets—but in the end, and in the immortal words of Lao Tzu,

“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”

11 plus 1 Reasons to Face Our Fears

“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us.”

~ Marianne Williamson

“I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.”

~ Dawna Markova

“The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.”

~ Dalai Lama

“We’re in a free-fall into future. We don’t know where we’re going. Things are changing so fast, and always when you’re going through a long tunnel, anxiety comes along. And all you have to do to transform your hell into a paradise is to turn your fall into a voluntary act. It’s a very interesting shift of perspective and that’s all it is… joyful participation in the sorrows and everything changes.”

~ Joseph Campbell

“When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there.”

~ Author Unknown

“Never compromise a dream. Do what you must. The fears, beasts, and mountains before you are part of the plan. Stepping stones to a promised land. To a time and place that is so much closer than even you expect. So don’t let your eyes deceive you, for even as you read these words, your ship swiftly approaches…”

~ Mike Dooley

“People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in,
their true beauty is revealed
only if there is a light from within.”

~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

“It is not because things are difficult
that we do not dare.
It is because we do not dare
that they are difficult.”

~ Seneca

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.”

~ Mark Twain

“And the day came
when the risk to remain tight in a bud
became more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.”

~ Anais Nin

 

And finally,

“There are millions of Americans who are clever and fearless, but the trouble is they are only four years old.”

~ Author Unknown

 

Like elephant spirituality on Facebook.

~

Ed: Kate B.