"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Warning: I do not use the prescribed Trust30 prompt for today because it is another fear-based prompt rather than an Emersonian based prompt. I was hoping these final few days would be different so I was rather disappointed to find us back where we were before, like returning to junior high after high school instead of moving along to college.
I hope I am not insulting you when I say that. Perhaps the prompt worked for you today and was exactly what you needed to read and write from, but on June 18 I wrote a blog post with this title: "The Courage Trail: And Why I Won't Address Redundant Fear-Worship for the Remainder of June" and today, I stand on the principles I addressed then.
Please understand what I am saying here: when my goal is completely in alignment with who I am and what I want to do-be and experience in the world, fear and uncertainty are par for the course but not so unsettling that they stop me. They are like stepping stones. My principles are fuel for my passionate pursuit of the gifts I offer the world. The gifts of life goals completed as tangible offerings and experiences that make this world a better place for others to do their life work, to live their passions, to not be ruled by fear and uncertainty but rather ruled by, as Emerson says, Principles.
I take time to strenthen my principles and in doing so, I am sure what I am doing and who I am being matches up with what is right for me. It naturally and without effort whisks the uncertainty/worry/fear right away.
It is as Emerson said, I am left standing with peace even if my knees are knocking. If I am giving a speech in front of a huge audience and I believe in what I am saying, my knees may knock and my voice may shake, but the principles I stand on are so firm, there is no question of whether or not I will take action.
I promised a week or so ago I would no longer worship at the temple of fear during this writing challenge because so many of the prompts seemed to take us straight into that place. I was sadly surprised to see yet another prompt with "fear" as a primary component. I don't see fear in Ralph Waldo Emerson's words, do you?
What do you see in today's quote?
I see strength, I see clarity, I see steadfastness and I see accomplishment borne from those qualities.
I also see fear and uncertainty as too different things. Uncertainty is as ambiguity - smoky, rough terrain, perhaps. That feeling of sea legs when setting out into something new. Uncertainty is often one of my muses, not something to turn from or worry about, it is something to celebrate. It offers me questions to live, challenges to rise toward and eventually either realize are companions on the road to my goals or sometimes they are blessings in disguise that say, "No, this really isn't what you wanted in the first place."
Emerson wrote of Triumph of Principles - when we lead a principled life, when we know what our principles are, uncertainty is less of an issue and fear is a playmate much more than an enemy.
Let's spend some time with Emerson's "Triumph of Principles" concept.
From Answers.com
" You are responsible for making sure you live by your own principles. And the exercise of those principles will bring you the greatest happiness in life."
And the definition of Principles from Dictionary.com:
1. A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
2. A rule or belief governing one's personal behavior
In re-reading Sean Ogle's prompt, I note his gentle approach to breaking down uncertainty.
I certainly appreciate that intention. I wonder what would happen if instead there was restoration of principles. If there was a curiosity built around the concept of being clear on our principles so that we know from our gut (or our heart) that this is the life goal we truly want to go for after all. What I have found repeatedly in my life is that when I think I want something, but am not sure I want something, this is when fear and uncertainty show up and the waffling become overwhelming.
Too often people create life goals based on shoulds or other people's opinions or the guidance of someone else and these goals match, they don't fit. Its no wonder people get stuck. It is like a little boy wearing a man-sized-suit and continually falling down or a woman giving her all to become a CEO of a cosmetic company because that was her mother's dream when she is blissful working out and at yoga classes but hates the drudgery of putting on make up.
Isn't it obvious?
Personal peace is achieved through principled living. It is achieved through knowing what we want and being perfectly clear that our principles are our own: not our parents or teachers or pastors, but our own.
If the voice of uncertainty or fear is louder than the voice of our principled action, look at the goal and ask yourself, "Is this really what I want?"
My guess is it isn't.
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Julie Jordan Scott
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