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Be Not Afraid

Wednesday, November 16, 2022,

The title of today's post is a classic line.  "Be not afraid" is spoken in the literal sense in the Christian Bible and, more recently, by Pope John Paul II.  

Thematically, the concept of "never fear/let nothing frighten you/etc." is seen throughout the Religions of the world.  Non-fear is, all at once, a simple, and complex thing to think about. 

We complicate our fears almost entirely by our own hands (via Social Media, "News", and other forms of media).  That's the first call out; we are in charge of how much "frightening material" we consume through "news"............

According to our "news" we're supposed to be very concerned/frightened about the following:

  • Global warming
  • Declining bee populations
  • The politics of the day
  • Polar bears (are the panda bears ok now?)
  • Something about the "cost of living crisis"
  • THE ECONOMY.....OMG RUN!
  • Some amorphous/shapeless force in the world that's keeping me down and preventing me from reaching my full potential.....
If you ask me (and no one did ask me, but I'm saying it anyway), we don't actually need to be concerned or frightened about any of the above.  We don't need to be concerned or frightened about any of the tripe that our "news" tells us to feel desperate about.

If allowed, our "news" will grab your head, hold your eyes open ("Clockwork Orange" style), and shriek to you, "LOOK!......LOOK!......OMG......IT'S ALL GOING TO END!!!.......OMG!!!! LOOK!!!!.....WHAT WILL YOU DO?!?!?!?".....when in reality, everything is going to be fine. 

Be not afraid. 

Part II:
Today's practice was excellent.  Connected, focused(-ish), and strong. 

Time to enter the world (unafraid). 

Namaste

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