Fear is an oddity, a strange phenomena once you begin to think about it. It’s adrenaline.It comes from survival, our primal roots and core reflexes. Fight or Flight. I’d like to think I’m the fight type when it comes down to it. But fear for us now is less a case of predators and more trivial, so to say. It’s no longer life or death, or serious injury.
It’s fear of not being good enough, of being judged, of being a failure. All serious anxieties that most of us harbour within, especially creatives. The thing is if we aren’t good enough, or are judged, or fail: we’re generally not going to die. So, in saying this why do these fears paralyse us? I can only speak from my own experience and I’ve suffered immensely with self doubt and fear, particularly in my teens; actually I still do. However, I’ve grown a great deal through the years and taught myself to accept and embrace my fear, it’s a process I’m still in. A journey. No. Quest that I struggle with daily but I know it’s worth it.
Currently I’m reading Meera Lee Patel’s book, My Friend Fear. I would highly recommend, it’s incredibly poignant, interesting and beautiful, her watercolour illustrations are stunning, and very calming. This book’s changed my perception of how I view and interact with my fears.
I now call my fear a cartographer, an explorer, a visionary, an astronomer. Because she knows the path, she knows the way and she knows that ‘here be dragons’ is not a threat or warning, but a challenge and adventure. My fear looks up at the stars and sees possibility rather than the endless abyss. The unknown is where I want to be going. Meera speaks about how your fear will guide you to where you need to go. It won’t be easy and you won’t be unafraid.
However, I know that if I follow fear that’s where I’ll find the greatest rewards.