The Joy of Ordinary

I’m waiting for the wintry onslaught with a fresh pot of strong coffee. It’s almost an espresso roast that could walk on its own; just the strength I love. I got all my work done yesterday so that I can enjoy Winter’s blast in lazy comfort today; reading, listening to music, working on some art, meditating, and a napping.

For a while now I’ve been feeling this wonderful sense of “settled” growing in me. It's not a “give up” settled, but more a contentedness. An almost cosmic sense of having exactly what I need and not longing for anything more. If I had to put it into a statement it would be, “I am here, right now in this very moment, with everything I need and I don’t want for more.” I’m not rich, not famous, not powerful or even “worldly” to much of a degree. There are places I’d love to go I know I’ll never get to. Things I’d like to see in person I know I won’t. Good people in the world I will never meet. Sometimes I eat too much, have one Old Fashioned too many, stay up later than I should, sleep later than I intended, and sometimes don’t get everything done in the day I’d hoped to. Strangely enough that gives me a profound sense of comfort; that everything is okay. It’s a deeper sense of happiness and contentedness sprinkled with a dusting of a profound confidence as their product. The ordinariness of my life, the joy of the every day and the sense of comfort and place that accompanies it is absolutely delicious.

The Only Thing We Have To Fear...

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

– Franklin Roosevelt

As I continue on my journey of personal discovery and growth, this phrase keeps coming back to me. It's ten simple words that I think are some of the most simple yet utterly profound. As I grow and learn more about myself the quote takes on different meanings.

For instance, place the emphasis on the word "fear."
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Now put the emphasis on the word "thing." "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Now "we." "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

See what I mean?

I've learned that fear permeates practically everything if we let it. Fear is the ultimate paralyzer. It freezes us in place, whether that be trying a new entree at a restaurant, asking that person we've always thought was cute out on a date, or more tragically, staying in a miserable job because we fear rejection and change.

I've learned to identify my fear in a situation and label it as just that, fear. Once I do that I realize that it's not the thing or situation or person or event I fear. It's simply me letting fear hold me back.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Indeed. Thank you, Mr. Roosevelt.