Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

What if somewhere is actually where we are?  What if we are wasting so much of our life chasing for a rainbow without seeing the technicolour display in our own life?  The Stoic reading today was again from Epictetus.  The theme of how our fear of death can actually prevent us from living.  Fear is a huge factor in our lives, in my life it has often reared its ugly head to stop me from moving forward.  I battle fear everyday, although most people, except for my husband and children, are unaware of this fact.  I know that I am not unique in this respect, most humans battle fear on a daily basis or have battled it in some form for a long period of time.

I am hearing impaired, was born that way, and it does cause me to lose my way in social situations.  I also experience quite a high level of social anxiety.  I imagine there are a number of contributing factors to my social anxiety but there really is no sense in dwelling on them.  The reality is that I still need to function in this world.  I need to "put myself out there" on a daily basis.  I have my own consulting business that I am able to run from home so I am spared some of the daily contact required in "normal" employment situations.  I have lately become more vocal in my community, opening up my home for workshops on Stoic philosophy and a local community group for seasonal rituals, etc.  I am overcoming my fear and continue to work on this on a daily basis.  I am growing and moving forward because I refuse to allow my social fear to win.

When we allow our fear of death to win, we rob ourselves of many beautiful experiences in life.  We need to accept that, just as a flower blooms for a time and then withers and dies, we too bloom, wither and then die.  We ALL must die.  We have no idea if death is final or if there is another life beyond this one in some form or another.  We can believe, depending on our different religious or spiritual paths, that there is something more, but none of us have ever been shown an incontrovertible proof of life beyond this one.  Rather than being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good let's go out into the world with a renewed purpose.  Let's find our bliss and make a difference with the lifetime that is left to us.  Let us greet each new day as a brand new opportunity to change the world that we live in for the better.  I want that to be my legacy.  When I am no longer on this earth I want those who I knew and loved to know that I loved them and cherished them.

Let's move forward and cherish our lives as gifts from the Universe and make a difference today.