Fear and Authenticity

My mentor Thelma was 23 years older than me, yet still often talked about her fears. When I was in my early forties I was still under the impression that I didn’t have much fear and that the fears I did have would soon be overcome. Although I never said this out loud I secretly thought Thelma’s spiritual practice couldn’t be very effective if she was still afraid at her age. Today that I understand the courage that Thelma showed in allowing her own fear, and it is only now that I am gaining that courage for myself. As I have gotten older, I’ve become too tired to hold the fear down and today I am learning to walk with it. I have come to understand that fear is part of who I am and part of what makes me authentically human. That is one of the things Thelma was teaching me all along.