08/01/2023
20 to 40
**Aug 1st marks the 20 day countdown to my 40th birthday!! Being the sucker for milestones and countdowns that I am, I wanted to share the top 20 lessons I've learned over the last 20 years. All in love, from me to you!!
One - At the center of it all, there is Love and Fear.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, author of “5 Stages of Grief” believed: “There are only two emotions: love and fear.” She goes on to tell her readers to “always choose love.”
At this very moment, in all honesty, I am feeling both love and fear. In fact some areas of my life have both feelings attached–in tandem. I have learned, however, to not fear the feeling of fear anymore than I love the feeling of love. If I lean into my fears I can actually see my desire for love peeking through. The depths at which I fear, oftentimes, reflects the depths at which I love. Sometimes my fears reveal a prideful love and other times my fears reveal a sacrificial love. Though all of my fear aims to protect, fear is no place for me to dwell. The only way to experience the love I so deeply desire is better understand what love is:
Love is moving closer, Fear pulls me away
Love is curious, Fear shuts me down
Love is pursuing truth, Fear says easy is good enough
Love is bringing my whole self, Fear is my performance
Love is my exhale, Fear is holding my breath
Love is my tears, Fear is my hardening
Love is believing the best, Fear tells only the worst stories
Love is not easily embarrassed, Fear is my pride
Love is my gift, Fear is my procrastination
Love is my revelation, Fear is my status quo
Love is my song, Fear is my silence
Love is my humanity, Fear wants my perfection
Love is home, Fear is my unsettled & insatiable gaze
Love is believing myself, Fear tells me I’m not worthy
Love is deeply knowing and being deeply known, Fear holds me at the surface
Love is my letting in & letting go, Fear is my control
Love is my trust, Fear is my prison
Love is moving forward, Fear is paralyzed by the past
Love is seeing it all, Fear tells me it’s too painful to look at
Love is the hard work that brings peace, Fear doesn’t even try
Richer in love, T