We don’t always talk about it, we barely whisper it- scared we’ll somehow speak “it” into reality. As if that is how it works.
No more.
Facing things and dragging them kicking and hollering into the light takes away some of the “boogie man” factor. There is something you should know.
Stuff we keep in the dark stays scary.
Let me share a story about a dancing queen who battled fear and won-
Dim the house lights…I’ll wait.
Like many young girls, I aspired to be a ballerina. The grueling half-hour practice proved too much for me, so eventually, the dreams were tucked away.
Decades later, watching the dance classes of my own little girls brought back hidden longings. I still wanted to dance
It so happened that they were beginning an adult Jazz class in my area.
Now I was faced with a decision. I have little rhythm (on the outside, my brain refuses to believe it).
I decided that day to follow a dream, a flat-out frivolous dream, just for this tired mommy.
I bought new snazzy jazz shoes and walked in.
The class consisted of mainly new moms, and one very brave dad. There we met, determined each week to learn some moves and manage a routine. Determined.
And you know what? We had a fantastic time.
Jazz hands.
We leaped and jumped, and leaped some more.
We all thought of that scene from Fantasia...you know the one. I know you do. We were leaping in front of floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
Under fluorescent lighting. All was fun until we realized we had to do the recital. With the little kids. In clingy TUNICS.
We officially dubbed them the “un” confidence boosters.
Still, we pressed on, nervous now. Our song, Electric Avenue, seemed to be going okay in practice.
So what if we get embarrassed?
Still, we pressed on, nervous now. Our song, Electric Avenue, seemed to be going okay in practice.
Recital night came, and this is the fear part… I don’t like to be the center of attention.
I don’t care to be the object of undivided quiet audiences, I nearly vomited.
Seriously.
What would I look like up there? What if I forgot the routine? What if people laughed? What if my husband walked out from embarrassment?
The answer to these questions truly is a big “So what?!?”
But that realization came later…much later. Oh, friends, those fears loomed large over me, scraping their long nails of dread down my back.
As we walked on, I was shaking and almost in tears. Then the music began. There was no choice but to start. It was too late to turn back.
So I didn’t. And that packed a powerful lesson for me.
Fear can’t win after leaping in a tunic
It was terrifying, but it was the first time EVER that I KNEW, in my gut, that I could overcome fear.
I mean c’mon, after leaping with recent post-baby weight across a stage in a snug shiny tunic? It doesn’t get much more embarrasing. But I pressed on.
It might have been horrible, who knows, or cares.
What matters is that facing fear gives choice. Our choice is always:
Stay and shake
Play out the “what ifs” and weigh it out
Decide that the risk is worth it, because the base of the fear is not what we thought. In other words, we go for it.
Let’s face it together. I got your back. You in?
The Encouragement Project talks about finding courage in unexpected places here!
Nicely said