Yesterday I was speaking with a friend who is living on the other side of the country about the mystical journey of life and the process of letting go.
I was describing to her my own process of walking through my fear everyday. Everyday I must do the thing I think I cannot do. Everyday I pray for courage and I show up for the ride.
“It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter that I’m afraid, I’ll do it. Whatever I’m supposed to do I’ll do it,” I told her. This is my practice.
My friend, listening closely, told me about a film starring Ingrid Bergman called The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. It’s a B-movie from 1958 that nobody saw. In it, Bergman plays a missionary who is sent to China. At one point in the film she is visiting a prison and beyond the bars she can hear screaming and terrible sounds that evoke unspeakable horrors.
The guard says to her, “Aren’t you afraid?” and she says, “Yes. Open the door.”
My friend told me this story to illustrate her point, which was to say that my fear does matter. We cannot negate our fear. Our fear is real. So, yes, YES, I am afraid. Now open the door.
But the only reason I’m able to say open the door is because I trust. I trust in the mystical experience.
The mystic believes in spiritual truths that are beyond the intellect. The mystic believes that we are being guided every second of our lives. Every single thing that happens to us is guidance from on high.
This is challenging. But it is also liberating. Life becomes an adventure to be lived out every moment as we wait to see which path to take, what road to follow.
Fear of what lies ahead is inevitable. It feels terrible. But trusting Guidance is the key that allows us to say, “Yes. Open the door.”
Inspiring Message of the Day: I’m terrified but I’m willing to do whatever it is that I am supposed to do. I will pray for courage and I will walk forth into the greatest adventure of all: my own life.
