ELEVEN

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela

I hope that I will never have to go through anything similar to what Nelson Mandela had to live through. I do understand his statement about courage not being the absence of fear. I think that my brain will always take the future and paint pictures of what might or could happen. Usually the pictures it paints are not the optimistic outcomes and these things become my biggest fears.

A friend of mine taught me to see “fear” as Future Events Appearing Real. If I allow myself to get into that future seeking mode, then I wind up spinning my wheels and wasting the precious time of now. Besides, I am usually wrong in my future casting. If I ever had a crystal ball, it broke a long time ago and has never come back from the repair shop.

Another friend of mine suggested one day to stop wasting time trying to clean up the wreckage of the future. I have put quite a bit of effort in to cleaning up the wreckage of my past. The only thing I can do to prevent future wreckage is to stay present in the now. When I stay present and have courage, I rarely create anything to clean up later. I still have those fears that come to mind but I have learned to conquer them by staying out of the future.

I may intend for tomorrow, but I attend to today. I look for what I can do or how I can be of service today. This keeps me busy and challenges my mind to stay in today. Tomorrow will bring its own challenges.