How much of our time should we spend preparing for the worst? And how much time should we allow ourselves just to enjoy the life we have?
photo of beach in Lincoln City, Oregon, by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Preparing for the Worst?
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Tag Archives: fear
Breathe. You’re safe.
Breathe. In this moment you’re safe.
photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
“How hard could it be?”
Do one thing every day that scares you. – Eleanor Roosevelt
“How hard could it be?” is the question that has often preceded my finest adventures.
Thirty years ago, when a woman who was scheduled to sing at a wedding came down with laryngitis and asked me to fill in for her, I remember asking myself, “How hard could it be?” and said yes. I’d never sung at a wedding before, but really… how hard could it be? I mean… what’s the worst that could happen, right? I could stumble over the words maybe, or hit the wrong note, or I could come into a verse too early or too late, or my voice could disappear, or I could end up completely humiliating myself in some way. But how hard could it be? And so when the time came, there I was, singing a Beatles song at Peggy’s wedding, and there, also, was Scott Terrell, serving as the wedding photographer. And we were drawn to each other after the ceremony, and talked and laughed, and this is how I met the man who would be my husband.
How hard could it be? I asked myself as I strapped the crampons onto my boots, and looked up the mountain slope to the summit. And so I found myself on the tops of Mounts Rainier, Baker, Hood, and Adams. How hard could it be? I asked myself as I considered motherhood, and, before long became mother to one of my favorite people in the world, and, a few years later, to another one of my favorite people in the world. And, how hard could it be? I asked myself as I interviewed for the teaching job that would bring me into a twenty-year teaching career, and, later, met with the director of another school who offered me my current position.
And when the young Americorps volunteer in my current school asked me to join him and eight high schoolers for an overnight snowshoe trip, I gulped discreetly, and asked myself, “How hard could it be?”
I had concerns. Firstly, I do not seem to have the same body I had ten years ago. I know. Weird, right? I’m not sure, exactly, when things began to go south – but, let’s just say, that the body that had gotten me to the summits of Rainier, Baker, Hood, and Adams is no more. Would I be the weak link on this epic adventure? The person who held everyone else up? And I hadn’t been snow-shoeing in, like, twenty years, and wasn’t sure I remembered how to go about it. Also, I didn’t know the students who were coming on the trip, and nor did they know me. I felt a nervous weight of responsibility towards them. And then there was the issue of the “facilities.” The cabins we would be staying in had no bathrooms in them – an outhouse about fifty yards down a sloping hill would be serving as our toilet. And… umm… did I mention that my body is not what it was ten years ago?
Yeah. “How hard could it be?” became my daily mantra in the week before the snowshoe trip…
But ohmygosh! I had such a fantastic time! The students ended up taking care of ME – they helped me put on my snowshoes, showed me how to dig my toes in so I could make it up that really steep slope, and introduced me to our local radio station 92.5 FM – which has some way cool music I’d never heard before.
It was a wonderful trip – a great escape from classrooms and traffic and everyday life – and into the peace and beauty of the mountains in winter. I’m so glad I asked myself “How hard could it be?” and accepted the Americorps volunteer’s invitation to a mid-week adventure.
And did I mention I actually got paid for this?!
Yeah. Life is good. 🙂
Fear never stopped being and its action. – Mary Baker Eddy
Photos from our epic adventure (by Karen Molenaar Terrell) –
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- snowshoe trip at Mt Baker
What will happen on December 21st?
“The inaudible voice of Truth is, to the human mind, ‘as when a lion roareth.’ It is heard in the desert and in dark places of fear.” – from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
Five years ago, on a discussion forum, I learned for the first time about the belief that the world will end on December 21st. Someone asked “What will happen in 2012?”
I gave the question some thought, and then answered, “Seriously then? I think mankind is at a crossroads here. We can choose which direction we want to head – towards an Apocalypse (which I swear some people actually seem to be praying for) or away from one. My dad was talking with some friends, once – great, cynical old farts – and one of them said something like, ‘The meek will inherit the earth – sure – because nobody else will want it by the time everybody else is done with it.’ I thought that was funny, and really, really sad, too. I think we’re at a place in our history where mankind has to learn some lessons, and learn them really fast. The first thing we have to learn is to be kind to our environment. But we need to learn to be kind to each other, too – no matter what beliefs or non-beliefs we each have. We’ve got to give up that whole ‘eye for an eye’ mentality – learn forgiveness, and generosity. I have hope for us. I think there’s a movement of good in the world. I believe Good (Love, Truth) will win in the end.”
I think the world manifests what’s going on in the collective “thought” of mankind. I believe a lack of appreciation for God’s beautiful creation – choosing an accumulation of material “Things” (money and personal possessions) over the expressions of Spirit (the beauty of a clean and healthy environment) is causing mankind some problems.And I believe if mankind is full of fear – if people come to expect doom in our future – then doom might be what they see manifested.
A friend of mine was telling me about this book – The Hundredth Monkey – that talks about how this group of monkeys started doing something different in their community and – without ever going to another monkey community – other monkeys in other communities started doing the same thing. It was like the idea, or the thought, was contagious – even without any physical connection between these animals. Anyway, I think thoughts can be contagious – and I think good thoughts can be contagious, too – and if mankind comes to expect good, good will happen.
I believe that if we really want to help our world, we need to stop living in fear. Stop being afraid of each other. Stop being afraid of what the future holds for us. We need to fill our mental atmosphere with love, joy, and hope – with heaven. In the book of Luke in the Bible, we read: “And when he (Jesus) was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” And in II Corinthians, Paul says: “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
I don’t think the world has to end, or we have to die, to experience heaven and salvation. Jesus said the kingdom of God is within us – in our thoughts. If our thoughts are full of hope, joy, and love we’re in heaven right now. Likewise, if our thoughts are full of hate, fear, and anger we’re experiencing hell right here, and right now. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy has this to say about “Heaven”: “Heaven is not a locality, but a divine state of Mind…” and she defines “Heaven” as “Harmony; the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle’; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere of Soul.”
What does our future hold? Good. Our future holds Good. Nothing can destroy Love or Truth – God – we will always have Good in our future. Count on it. 🙂
Buck up, my friends! It is our duty – maybe the greatest thing we can do for our world – to stop being afraid. We need to be alert, yes. We need to be aware and we need to be wise. And we really need to stop being afraid.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. – Isaiah 41: 9-11
“Christian scientific practice begins with Christ’s keynote of harmony, ‘Be not afraid!'” – from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 