Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Feb/March 2018 Aspire Mag Full Issue: Inner Prospe | Page 28

myself to notice the anxiety that was sitting
heavy on my heart. Aware that I was holding
my breath, I quickly put my hand on my
heart and inhaled deeply. In that moment, I
wanted to hide under my chair and pretend
my friend “fear” wasn’t really there.
Sitting with my vulnerability, I immediately
became distracted, restless, and extremely
uncomfortable. I tried to keep my friend at
bay, but she patiently waited for me to be
still, listen, and open up to her. Surrendering
to my heart, I sat still until my fear rose and
burst through its protective layers. As I
opened up to these emotional layers, I felt
as though my heart had been flayed open.
Although I felt shattered into a million shards
of glass, I knew I was safe to unravel and
release the fear that had debilitated me.
Being vulnerable leads us
to loving and accepting
ourselves fully.
What I ultimately gleaned from this
experience was that we can’t think or feel
our way into being courageous. Trusting
ourselves and letting go is the ultimate
vulnerability, and also the most powerful
and inspired action.
Through leaning into my vulnerabilities, I
realized that courage is required to follow
our soul’s path and to make the inspired
choices that align with it. It truly is the
road less traveled for it takes courage,
consistency, and commitment to follow this
divergent journey through the forest of life.
Being vulnerable leads us to loving and
accepting ourselves fully. It allows us to
become our own heroes, and step into the
unknown not as frightened human beings,
but as powerful beacons of courage. The
heart-based practices of leaning into our
vulnerability opens us to our most authentic
selves formed of love.
The more I let go, the deeper I released. I
incorporated journaling as another tool to
facilitate the excavation of my layers of fear.
With trust and compassion, I leaned into my
deepest vulnerability, the fear that I was not
good enough, perfect enough, and most of all
not lovable enough, becoming aware that this
fear had colored nearly my entire life experience.
Most importantly, I had courageously confronted
the pain inside myself, released it, and gained
awareness of the love that remained at the
source of my authentic self.
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To move from fear to courage, we have to
trust ourselves and exhume all that inhibits
our full self-expression. We must give
ourselves permission to make mistakes,
experience disappointments, acknowledge
our failures, and create messes. Our
greatest mistakes, and our biggest messes,
are our best teachers. The process of
trusting ourselves, letting go of fear, and
embracing our vulnerabilities may not be
neat and tidy—but if we do it enough, it will
eventually put us in touch with our authentic
selves and the power in the universe that is
our birthright.
www.AspireMAG.net | February / March 2018