static

And just like that, more thoughts. There is a Samuel Butler (the Victorian novelist, not my son, although my son certainly has some quotes to remember as well) quote that a friend of mine posted on facebook yesterday that got me thinking.

Here's the quote-

"Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself. ~Samuel Butler

What I thought when I read this quote was that static meant fixed, rigid, permanent. A force at rest. Showing little change. In this context, fear is something that is fixed in our lives. The permanence of it (of our thinking it is permanent) keeps us from moving into the unknown, flowing with life, which is decidedly not permanent.

Of course the other way to read static in this quote is as background noise- background noise that is loud enough to keep us from hearing the voice of our self, our desires, our heart. Either way, fear is something that can get in the way of us flowing with life- of even hearing what that flow might be or where it might take us. {I'm just noticing too that the word static even feels like the opposite of the word flow.}

I'm not necessarily one to suggest we have to conquer every fear or do all of the things that we are most afraid of. I think in some cases, some fears, can be helpful. The types of fears I am thinking of with this quote are those fears where you know you want something but are letting a fear guide you instead. It has been my experience that you can tell which type of fear is which (a helpful fear or a limiting one) by the level of sadness you feel when you think about not doing what you want and living the fear instead. Even just thinking about the possibility of flowing rather than fearing can open up your heart enough so that you notice a shift in your perception of your fear and how very un-solid and quiet it can be.