Sent and resent, I saw this and snagged it to put it here. I wanted to think about it. I wanted to pick apart how I feel about this definition of fear. I do believe that it fits in with the quote, "Feel the fear and do it any way." But it feels like there is an added dimension of just not functioning in spite of my fear but using my fear as a jumping point to another level. I remember watching my kids play Mario Brothers on Nintendo. They had a way of jumping on top of bad guys that sprung them up to get points and rise to new levels. Using fear to bust through brick walls has serious possibilities. Fear pushes significant buttons in our bodies. The adrenal rush kicks in. Thrill seekers become addicted to this rush and look for something more and more frightening at the movies, in sports, or other avenues. Abuse survivors all ready had more fear than they cared to experience. Fear is often used by abusers to control and quiet their victim. However, what if the victim could tap into the fear much like a thrill seeker to propel themselves out of the situation they are currently facing. What if instead of cowering we take the fear and turn it to anger. There is the catch. Anger is demonized as a "bad" emotion. Any "good" person must suppress this "bad" emotion. Abusers want their victims paralyzed by their fears and ashamed to release anger that would propel them out of the situation. Take that FEAR and face it then lay it down as a stepping stone. To me, part of facing my fear was accepting the rage I felt. The rage linked to all the different ways my boundaries were violated. Face Everything And Rise. Move beyond - Past - take back my personal power. This definition is going to be explored to see where I can take it. Fear a stepping stone to a stronger me.
2 comments:
Insightful; I think in some ways the abuser dampens our natural response to fear. Fear which can be considered a raw emotion (tied to survival) causes an immediate reaction. With abuse it starts out as a fear signal but gets dampened over time. We teach our bodies and our mind that this signal is something else - something not to react to (due to abuser lies) - we become paralysed from responding in a natural way to the fear. We should, as you say, get angry when fear comes our way. It allows us an out.
Good luck taking the next step and embracing the rage.
xxoo TR
Maybe the differences in the quotes is the difference between surviving and thriving...
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