I used to stutter. I learned to cope, the way you can do with most challenges, but if Im honest it bothered me. When I was 21 I was asked to read a lesson in a church in Israel. (Id been hitchhiking around, run out of money and a vicar let me stay on his compound. A great guy. The only thing he asked of me was to read in church. Nothing much ... youd think.) I was terrified I was going to stutter...mispronounce words...look a fool. I knew few of the things I know now that could have helped me. I only knew (thought!) I couldnt do it. So, and I can hardly believe it, I pretended to be ill and stayed in bed. I felt so low afterwards that I resolved never to do such a thing again. I somehow recognised this type of fear for what it is: an insidious, corrosive emotion that feeds on its success. If I was frightened in future, I promised myself, I would learn to deal with it. I trained myself not only to speak in public but also to find strategies to help others conquer their fears too. And somewhere along the way I came to a revelation that our spirits can be diminished, as it were, by running away from that which frightens us. Yet in a similar way, by facing our fears our spirits can soar and the effects can be felt in all areas of our lives. Its as if when we face our fears we gain an inner confidence that we are over comers! The words of Franklin Roosevelt may sometimes seem superficial but there still remains truth within them: ... let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself... Have a great weekend folks.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 07:00:01 +0000
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