A few years ago, I was hired to speak about Courage. As I began pondering the points I would make, the phrases, "fear fighting" and "fear extinguisher" came into my mind. I thought it would be great to get in real fire fighter gear and take pictures to enhance the images of fear fighting and fear extinguisher. My son worked for me that summer and he was the photographer, but I found myself procrastinating about it.
Soon my son would be back to college. I was beginning to run out of time and all of a sudden I realized my procrastination was due to fear! Even though I loved the concept of fear fighting, I was afraid to call the fire department and track down someone who could grant me permission to come, dress in their gear, and take pictures. Here I was speaking about courage, yet I was afraid of rejection and feeling embarrassed in the whole process. That was enough to get me moving, and as you can see by the picture, we got it done. Notice my son even fixed the license plate to fit the theme of extinguishing the flames of fear in order to "smoke" past the obstacles fear creates.
This year I was asked to speak about HOPE. When I was preparing that talk, I realized that COURAGE is at the heart of hope. It takes courage to adjust to significant losses and live with changes filled with unknowns. That is when we all have to capture our courage and hang on to it to help us through.
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