How do the terror attacks affect you? An invitation to ponder fear and how to overcome it 

Read to the end to enjoy your daily dose of inspiration.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Fear just blows. The terrible acts of terror in France and this week once again world wide are despicable. They are horrible for the directly impacted people and they negatively impact so many other innocent people on top of that. This morning I heard of folks delaying or cancelling travel to Paris, France, and even avoiding Europe altogether. It hit our home today as my kids and I prepare to go to Berlin, Germany today. My son is super nervous to fly and to be in a large city like Berlin: He is afraid of not knowing if we will encounter more terrorist acts.

I cannot blame him. Just day before yesterday a big soccer game between The Netherlands and Germany was cancelled just 90 minutes prior to kick-off. It would have taken place about 45 minutes away from my hometown Hameln Germany (the Pied Piper Town). Scary? For certain.

I invited my son to ponder what he is afraid of. It is the unknown most and foremost. The not knowing if and what would happen if we got close to potential terrorists. This kind of fear is what I believe terrorists want us to experience. So should we not even get out of the house anymore?

We will not succumb to this kind of terror. We stand side by side with all people who embrace unconditional love, empathy, compassion, gratitude, happiness, fulfillment, and tolerance. We cannot let outright evil people dictate our thoughts and actions to the point of inaction on our part. Our family refuses to knuckle under and we will travel anyway – we will be smart about travel, but we will travel as planned.

One poem that has significantly impacted my thinking is that of Dawna Markova, who is a cancer survivor and a terrifically inspiring person. So here goes my gift of her inspiration to you. This is for all of you who are experiencing fear and other forms of anxiety. Live life to the fullest potential that you were born with.

Ralf

Credit for the poem below goes to Dawna Markova (Discover more about her here)

I will not die an unlived life.

I will not live in fear

of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days,

to allow my living to open me,

to make me less afraid,

more accessible,

to loosen my heart

until it becomes a wing,

a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance;

to live so that which came to me as seed

goes to the next as blossom

and that which came to me as blossom,

goes on as fruit.

fully alive – dawna markova