What is there to be afraid of?

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”—Marianne Williamson

            I have had fears in my life for sure; mice, spiders, swimming in the ocean, and writing for this blog.  So the question remains how to face them.  Living deep in the Indiana woods there was no escaping mice and spiders.  Reluctantly, I learned how to coexist.  Now, living in coastal North Carolina I am learning to be in the ocean without my knees knocking.  Just yesterday I caught my first wave on a surf board.  So here I sit today ready to conquer this blog post!

            Honestly, it is not the blog I am afraid of or how people will respond to it.  It is that feeling of something greater than me is happening through my words.  Leaving Indiana and my position as a telephone triage nurse left me with space to rediscover my passions.  For me, being home with kids has been the most rewarding experience of my life, but at times has left me feeling personally lost and inadequate.  Deep down, though, I feel I am bound to do great things outside of being a mom.  I believe we are ALL here to do great things with our time on the earth.  We just have to figure out where and turn ourselves in that direction.  I had a conversation with my husband last summer about my plans after the kids went back to school.  I mentioned that I had no desire to return to nursing and that I wanted to actively research what opportunities existed with the organizations and companies I had been supporting through the years.  On my list was The Body Shop, Ten Thousand Villages, Product(Red), Oxfam, The Full Belly Project, and ONE.  I was not exactly sure what I was looking for, but knew this is what I needed to do.  For those who believe in the “law of attraction” they will understand then how it came to be that just two weeks later there was a ONE documentary screening right here in Wilmington!  Of course I was there and later that evening received an email asking if I would be interested in volunteering as a ONE Congressional District Leader. 

For many reasons saying “yes” was frightening, then I went to the quote by Marianne Williamson and continued reading…”We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous.  Actually, who are you not be.  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.  As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”.  So here I am visiting Washington D.C., meeting Members of Congress, volunteering at U2 concerts, and traveling to Kenya.  This is where I am meant to be and this is only the beginning of where I am going.  What is there to be afraid of?