‘Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me... Fear begets power. I willed myself to beget power. And it wasn’t long before I actually wasn’t afraid.’

--Cheryl Strayed, Wild

Rock Climbing

I am an enthusiastic (novice) climber and it is brilliant for so many reasons.
These are the main benefits for me...

1. Upper body 'pulling' strength. This is completely lacking in yoga but I get my fix here. Helps my hand balancing skills and shoulder health tremendously.
2. Being present. You have no choice but to be in the moment with this stuff, especially when up high. When i'm focused on exactly what i'm doing as i'm doing it i know i'll be safe. This being present stuff is also a mighy fine trick for beating fear with a stick! 
3. Climbing is a movement puzzle. It requires great body awareness and movement intelligence, again in a very different way to the yoga, besides the obvious physical stuff involved.

I highly recommend giving it ago!!!

The downside (for me anyhow) is it always ruins my manicure. You can't have it all huh... 

(image of Natures rock climbers...they certainly don't look like they have the fear! from erinconsidine via keelsterkeel)

Being But Men

Being but men, we walked into the trees
Afraid, letting our syllables be soft
For fear of waking the rooks,
For fear of coming
Noiselessly into a world of wings and cries.

If we were children we might climb,
Catch the rooks sleeping, and break no twig,
And, after the soft ascent,
Thrust out our heads above the branches
To wonder at the unfailing stars.

Out of confusion, as the way is,
And the wonder, that man knows,
Out of the chaos would come bliss.

That, then, is loveliness, we said,
Children in wonder watching the stars,
Is the aim and the end.

Being but men, we walked into the trees.

-- Dylan Thomas

Fear of Waves

Cymophobia
Fear of Waves

Happy baby. Bobbing. Strong arm. Slap. Hard
water. Bottle-green swells smack, splatter. Chuck
the chin. Bluster. Rip-roaring rumpus. Scutched.
Scuttled. Fathomless undertone.

Mumble. Mutter. Hugging the shore. An arm
to step over. A finger. Toddler. Hand
on the ankle. Grip, gripe. Carom. Cuff. Crest.
Sea legs knee-deep. Spanking. Spanking.

Sullen. Sullen. Muscled shallows hunch, hump
at the bunk bed. Shrimp. Squirt. Grunt. Grumble. Grim
bone-bruiser. Shunter. Lurcher. Breaker. No
kidding around. Knock down drag out. Keeps.

—Nathalie Anderson.

Photography credit James Cooper.
via theparisreview

Sometimes my insides feel all muddled up.

If you are ever feeling overwhelmed by stress, worry, anger or fear write down at least three situations or moments you consider to be positive. Emotions are as transient as pain; write down when you notice a feeling that feels positive to you and build up a storage space of memories of feeling good that you can call upon when there is a break in the weather...

(image found here )

Sit. Stay. Heal.

 “The sad part is that all we’re trying to do is not feel that underlying uneasiness. The sadder part is that we proceed in such a way that the uneasiness only gets worse. The message here is that the only way to ease our pain is to experience it fully. Learn to stay. Learn to stay with uneasiness, learn to stay with the tightening, learn to stay with the itch and urge of shenpa, so that the habitual chain reaction doesn’t continue to rule our lives, and the patterns that we consider unhelpful don’t keep getting stronger as the days and months and years go by.

Someone once sent me a bone-shaped dog tag that you could wear on a cord around your neck. Instead of a dog’s name, it said, ‘Sit. Stay. Heal.’ We can heal ourselves and the world by training in this way.

Once you see what you do, how you get hooked, and how you get swept away, it’s hard to be arrogant. This honest recognition softens you up, humbles you in the best sense. It also begins to give you confidence in your basic goodness. When we are not blinded by the intensity of our emotions, when we allow a bit of space, a chance for a gap, when we pause, we naturally know what to do. We begin, due to our own wisdom, to move toward letting go and fearlessness. Due to our own wisdom, we gradually stop strengthening habits that only bring more pain to the world.”

 Taken from Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears by Pema Chödrön
Found via the beautiful Gold Lion Yoga .

William Wegman

William Wegman
1. He Lost His Balance, 1973
2. Eek a Crab, 1974

Live anyway

--Unknown
Found via witanddelight

Fear

‘Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me... Fear begets power. I willed myself to beget power. And it wasn’t long before I actually wasn’t afraid.’

--Cheryl Strayed, Wild

fear of the abyss

Perhaps, if a bold swimmer, you may once venture out a long way—once! Not twice!—even in company. As the water deepens beneath you and you feel those ascending currents of coldness arising which bespeak profundity, you will also begin to feel innumerable touches, as of groping fingers—touches of the bodies of fish, innumerable fish, fleeing toward the shore. The farther you advance, the more thickly you will feel them come, and above above you and around you, to right and left, others will leap and fall so swiftly as to daze the sight, like intercrossing fountain jets fluid silver. The gulls fly lower around you, circling with sinister squeaking cries; perhaps for an instant your feet touch in the deep something heavy, swift, lithe that rushes past with a swirling shock. Then the fear of the sea, the vast and voiceless nightmare of the sea, will come upon you; the silent panic of all those opaline millions that flee glimmering by will enter into you also.

-- Lafcadio Hearn, Chita.
(Found via evencleveland)

Sometimes its good to be scared....

Found here

from here