Fear

I carry with me some deep regrets. When I look back to those moments in my life when I chose against the calls of my soul, to the question, "Why?" the answer is almost always, "I acted out of fear."

"Out of fear." A common idiom, rarely examined, but look closely: what does it say? Usually idioms that have become deeply ingrained in our language contain a profound core wisdom. Examine them closely and they point you toward the truth.

"I acted out of fear." Fear as a place you inhabit.

Enough with the regrets. I seek, now, to heed the calls of my soul. And yet there is always fear.

I took a close look at the phrase and wondered: Does the answer to the challenge posed by these moments--these moments that so often define our lives--live in the language as well? Is the answer contained in the idiom's opposite: to act into fear?

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