Come Fly With Me

Well lucky me—today is another day of practicing the art of loving what I hate.  Yep—I’m off to the dentist again. (here)  This time it’s the periodontist, where receiving a very expensive and painful diagnosis is a real possibility.  Off into the fearful unknown I go again.  I’ve promised myself that I’ll put the anticipatory hand-wringing ritual off until I get in the car.  Oh wait—I think I promised myself that I wouldn’t do that anymore.  Did I lie?

Yesterday I freaked out over being late for a doctors appointment and stressed myself into an attack of atrial fibrillation.  A minor personal issue, and yet fear strikes again, and stress has an impact on my health.  If a minor incident like being late can produce enough stress to cause a health glitch, just imagine what a major issue might churn out.

Big pharma and the media are heavily invested in hypnotizing us into watching the news. First, the media scares us to death with bad news, then the drug companies swoop in to sell us the drugs we need to fix the problems that the media has produced by filling our heads with so much fear.  For the media and big pharma, it’s a winning combination.  For you and me?  Not so much.  It pays to sell bad news.

Why are we so attracted to bad news?  Why do we glue ourselves to a TV screen and allow ourselves to be bombarded day after day with hideous negativity?  Why have we turned our power over to the media?  Why are we not like a firefly that is attracted to the light instead?

What will it take to wake us up and get us to change the channel?

Fear is fear, no matter the size, shape or scope.  Regardless of form, whether it is a personal issue like going to the dentist, or an issue that presents itself on the world stage, or a vague, unsettling fear of the unknown, it is still fear.  Regardless of cause, it has an impact.  I can wring my hands over dental visits or thoughts of the world as I know it coming to an end, but truly, what good will it do?  What benefit do I bring to myself or to my world if I allow fear to take over and run my life?  What drugs will I need that will fix me?

That’s quite enough fear for one day, I think.  Or for one lifetime, for that matter.  It’s time to change to the good news channel of hope.  If I were a member of the media, here is the first bit of good news that I would report: we are not broken.  We do not need to be fixed.  We need only allow ourselves the luxury of a change of mind.

If I had the power to give just one gift to you, my brothers and sisters of humanity, it would be the gift of the ability to replace fear with the faith that would fill you with the knowledge that beyond what appears dark and hopeless, there lies a world of truth, beauty, and goodness.

In the very depths of my being, I believe that this is so.  There are millions more like me in the world who are standing strong in the storm, holding a safe space for others to follow with hands outstretched to help those who seek their way into the light.  Have faith my friends.  Together, we can weather this storm and overcome the darkness.  If faith is too difficult for you to muster on your own, grab a hand, hold on tight, and be lifted into a New Heaven and New Earth on wings of love and light.