Fear causes you to feel small and powerless. Fear is the most insidious and suffocating emotion. How many great and beautiful people have withered and vanished — whose gifts the world never knew — because of fear's dread? Fear is paralyzing to life. When we are afraid of failure, judgment, loneliness or rejection, we try to play-it-safe to avoid fear's pain and uncertainty. When we are afraid, we advance cautiously and try to keep things the same and "safe." However, no matter how hard we try to keep things the same, change is inevitable. Even non-change is imperceivable change, because inaction will slowly change you from what you could have been, to what you never will be. It can be so hard to face our fears. It is a pathetic agony, so desperately wanting to liberate our dreams and live fully and completely in alignment with our hopes. It feels like crawling when we want to stand and leap. Yet, with all the passion, hope, faith and determination we can muster, we still feel the foreboding unease that our dreams, if attempted — could become a nightmare. This is how we are stunted by fear. Fear is a thief because fear robs you before you even begin.
