Oh, my Fear! She can really pound on our doors with all kinds of concerns, worries, warnings. When Fear walks in, it can feel like Joy is sucked right out of the room.
If we look in Fear’s pocket, we might see there is an envelope and that might just hold an invitation. The invitation is personal, different for everyone.
But wait Fear doesn’t always pound on our door, it sometimes seeps under the door. For example, shelves bare of products we usually pick up at the grocery store. We take note and maybe aren’t troubled too much. Then there are all the many news stories.
No one wants to overreact. But my eyebrow went up when I heard at least one dental office is screening their clients and now asking them to wash their hands once they get into the office, before they sit down in the dental chair. We take notice of the changes our friends, family members, schools, organizations, companies, nonprofits, and governments are or are not making over the past few days.
No matter how Fear enters, I believe, that invitation in Fear’s pocket is always present and it is up to us to determine what that invitation is.
This month Fear has reminded me to look for the joy, to look for the invitation, to look for the laughter. And so far I’ve found all three.
We do live in an abundant world and yes there are precautions that are appropriate to take and prepare for, but we can also look for that invitation.
Can Fear really suck Joy right out of a room, or is Joy actually playing a game of hide and seek with us?
– Mary
PS. This is part of a series of posts I am writing about joy during March. Here’s more about the original challenge.
