Freedom From Fear

In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered us his four basic freedoms. The fourth being freedom from fear. It is fear which keeps us from experiencing life to the fullest. We withdraw into the places of safety that shut out the rest of the world.  

We retreat from the things that threaten us. The intensity of fear, as it increases, draws us back further and further until we are known only to ourselves.  Finally, we are not engaged at all.  We are only surviving.

“All hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and openhearted vision of people who embrace life." ~ John Lennon

Fear can be overcome in the presence of a passionate mission. With such a mission we reject the notion of survival and thrive despite fear.  Passion is fueled by love which is the antithesis of fear.  And passion is at the very heart of excitement.   We can be so excited about the present moment with all of its possibilities that fear is pushed aside.  We move through it and beyond it because our mission is more important than anything else.

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Jim Valvano

Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig and Jim Valvano are wonderful models of what it means to face certain death and ruthless pain with fearlessness.  One had ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and the other had cancer.  Both continued to thrive and overcome every day to the very end. Gehrig’s ‘Luckiest Man’ speech at Yankee Stadium, and his baseball clinics for kids being treated at Mayo in Rochester, Minnesota shine for us decades after his death.  Jim Valvano’s ESPY speech inspires young and old alike.  It serves to fund cancer research efforts through the V Foundation.  He simply tells us; “Don’t give up.  Don’t ever give up.” These are words to guide us.  They are examples of great passion.  They direct us to live it well and to live it without succumbing to fear.

The Activism of Love

“It’s a huge danger to pretend that awful things do not happen.  But you need enough hope to keep going. I am trying to make hope.  Flowers grow out of darkness.” ~ Corita Kent

Corita Kent, once a nun called Sister Mary Corita, worked to bring religious and secular people together at Immaculate Heart College and assisted in a peacemaking campaign with Physicians for Social Responsibility. As a result, Cardinal James McIntyre began a movement to frame Kent as blasphemous and the college as communist. In 1968, Mary Corita, followed by most of the sisters at the college, made a difficult decision to return to secular life.  This ultimately led to the closing of Immaculate Heart.  She was named Woman of The Year by The Los Angeles Times, was featured on the cover of Time Magazine and received the American Institute of Graphic Arts Medal.  Remembered by many for her Love Stamp used by the USPS, Corita Kent's vast work is held by several art museums and private collectors including The Whitney, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Corita Kent Artwork

The intense faith demonstrated in Corita’s activism and art remains an inspiration in these times of violence, divisiveness, and rancor. There is a beautiful amalgamation of the holy and the human that we fail to embrace nowadays. We seem to have missed the point that God is Love and each of us is a gift of God.  Our mission is to transform the world.  Not by fighting against one another...but by combining divine and human love into an undeniable force for good. It is the only way.

All You Need is Love

“We’ve got the gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard, or just think it’s gonna get on with itself. You gotta keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it…and nurture it.” ~ John Lennon

Love is perfect.  Even in the cloudy reflection of broken relationships, love blesses us for having experienced it at all.  Our fragile and conditional human expressions of love can cause pangs of regret and worry, but even so, without it we would be lost.  Every time we allow ourselves to become vulnerable and open to the possibilities of love, we are drawing closer to God.  Every time we let go of resentment in favor of forgiveness, we are walking with God’s hand in ours.  Every time we stop to help a child, the Spirit of God is moving in our hearts.  Love is not only perfect it is the light that dispels the darknesses which would otherwise destroy us.

We are directed to “Love God, love our neighbor and love ourselves.”  This instruction, if truly followed, provides challenges that can keep us on track throughout our lives.  We will be continually transformed.  Everything else falls into place as we love first and foremost.  This is not easy work and requires that, as John Lennon says, we really look after it and nurture it.  We must allow ourselves to be loved as well as to give love.  Love counts us worthy even when we feel unworthy.  It identifies each of us as the beloved child of God.  When we accept this, we will be able to share it with others.  Then, the love we give will be the love we get.

Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse. In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers. His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration, and meditation.

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