Fear of Light

Imagine this. You’ve struggled long and hard in a lonely room that’s dimly lit. Then you happen upon a secret door, and you take a peak. The other room looks so bright that you can hardly make out what’s in it. But you know that life is better there.
 
You’d think that you don’t hesitate to go through that door. To a better life.
 
But turns out that we are uncomfortable of what is foreign to us. If your normal is struggling and suffering, a good time appears scary. Is it selfish to have it good? Do you deserve it? What if your friends-in-suffering find out?
 
Fear of success is real. But knowing that it’s there, you can use some strategies to help you ease this transition.
 
Visualization is one such strategy. Spend some time imagining a good time. Or remember good times you’ve had. Get comfortable with it.
 
If you hear voices that tell you it’s not OK to have a good life, kindly ask, what is it that s/he is trying to protect you from? Fear, judgment, guilt, shame? Whatever feelings come up, you can take the time to feel them. Through feeling them, you can get over them. And they will stop holding you back.
 
But make no mistake. Actually making your life better requires courage to face unknowns. Willingness to get uncomfortable. Tenacity to keep going when naysayers try to pull you back down.
 
But if you are reading this post this far, I am sure that you will take the path. You are not meant to stay cowered in your corner, feeling victimized by the callous, cruel world. (It’s a valid feeling, but you are not willing to stay there.)
 
I believe in you. You have the power to make this journey. Where you end up isn’t the point. Staying on the journey is. And you are capable of staying on it.
 
If it feels uncomfortable, know that you are not alone. If you find yourself sabotaging your chances, know that there will always be another. If you get affected by friends-in-suffering, know that there are also friends who are ahead of you in the journey. We are pulling for you. We know what it’s like to come up that path. We can offer a gentle hand to hold on to when you are on a particularly treacherous patch.
 
Fear of light is reasonable. We just can’t let it stop us. Let us march on.
 
Life Insights