Fear is not negative. We’ve been programmed to believe that it’s the cause of all of our problems and we’d be better off without it.

But the reality is, courage and trust — those essential building blocks of a meaningful, out-of-the-ordinary and magical life — cannot exist without fear. They are shaped and sharpened and strengthened alongside fear. Because of it.

As human beings, we are asked to let go over and over again throughout the course of our lives.

Let go of our attachments to desired outcomes, or how we thought things were “supposed to” go.

Let go of places and spaces, cities and homes.

Let go of people we love and relationships that shaped us but have run their course.

Let go of our identities, who we thought we were.

Sure, we have a choice here. You don't have to let go of any of these things. But gripping creates energetic stagnation.

When you hold onto something longer than you are meant to, you are blocking the flow of new energy that wants to come to you.

I am of the opinion that grief is one of the most beautiful, and most important aspects of the human experience.

Difficult as it can be to go through, it signifies that you are participating. 

Grieving shows that you are living intimately with life in such a way that you’ve truly opened your heart to someone, something, some chapter or experience.

“If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.”

This is a quote by Ram Dass that I reference often. It is always just so spot on… especially right now.

This time of year, many of us are spending more time with family. And when you are on the path of growth and awakening, when you are actively changing and evolving and shifting your energy…

being around the people who have known you all your life can be triggering AF.

Throughout your day (and your life), your energy can be scattered all over the place.

Into the past, into the future, into other people’s spaces…

Left behind at the grocery store, that Zoom meeting you just got off of, that awkward encounter you had earlier with your neighbor, caught up in the plans you’re making for next week…

The more of your energy that is scattered outside of you, the less of it you have available for YOU at any given time.

Including you.

You’ve probably heard the trope, “nothing blooms all year”.

Well, it’s a saying for a reason. If we can look to Mama Nature for an example of this, maybe we can learn to recognize this in ourselves.

Our Western, capitalist culture is predicated on productivity above all else.

Go! Build! Grow at all costs! Keep doing and making and creating all the time or you’ll DIE.

But this isn’t the way the nature of our bodies was designed to operate.

The “fear of being seen” is something that’s talked about over and over again in the personal development and entrepreneurship world. 

And for good reason — it plays a huge role in the process of transformation and living out your purpose. It comes up with all of my clients, and I’ve experienced it myself many times. 

But over time, what I’ve come to realize is that the fear of being seen is really the fear of NOT being seen…

It’s the fear of being perceived incorrectly, judged as different than you feel and know yourself to be. The worry that someone will get the wrong impression. 

In the personal development and spirituality space, there is an age-old trope about “finding your purpose”. It’s billed as this elusive final destination -- the answer to all of life’s uncomfortable questions. The end-all solution that will be the answer to all of the problems you currently face.

I hate to tell you this, but finding and living your purpose won’t “fix” everything. Connecting with this elusive path doesn’t automatically make everything easier.

But it does make the difficult stuff feel worth it.