“For some people, the only basis for their identity is fear. They are not sure what they are afraid of, but they know something is stalking them…getting closer…and closer. With the combination of the media bringing every horrible story right into our living rooms, the talk-radio hosts blathering about how evil the other political party is, and the newspapers reporting on the downfall of civilization from every angle, it’s no wonder that we live in a perpetual state of fear. (Remember, uncertainty is the breeding ground for fear.) So here is what you do.
First, the last thing you should download into your consciousness before you try to sleep is the news. Turn it off. Watch reruns of Saturday Night Live or some old movie (not Night of the Living Dead), read or talk with your significant other, sit on the porch, or color or draw. But cut the umbilical cord of fear before you sleep. Second, guard what conversations you engage in during the day. We have somehow confused talking with doing in America, and they are not the same things. Advertising your fears…is a sure way to keep them alive. Nip it in the bud. You are better off talking about the latest celebrity screw-up instead of the fear that permeates to much of today’s conversations.
Finally, get this: no one is exempt from the tragedies of life. For all the privileges the Kennedys have enjoyed, there is no way I would trade places with any of those folks. Your life will have its moments that bring you to your knees in fear, but faith will lift you up again.”
John St. Augustine, in “Living an Uncommon Life”
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Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.
