Tracks In The Dust

A Father's Advice About Learning the Mission of Life

Archive for the tag “Fear”

25 Oct 2013

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt

Fear, uncertainty and doubt. The FUD factor.

It is really the basis for a lot of decisions in our life. It plays on us – chips away at the confidence of a decision. It can influence the paths we take, the things we say, the attempts we make on the important things we do and the trivial things.

Recognizing it is part of the challenge. Some times our brave selves, our fearless selves get in the way and can let us go ahead with a bad idea as well. It is a great equalizer.

Even those people who you know who seem fearless, who tread ahead without regard for the outcome. They have their own fears and doubts. Even they are uncertain at times. Quietly they may approach some things that others are amazed. But there are deep-seated fears there.

Fear, uncertainty and doubt. It can rule you or you can adjust. You can have trust where you didn’t before, You can look at things in a different way, you can step out of your comfort zone and prove something to yourself. If there are failures, looking at them as short-term set backs may be right. Taking another whack at things isn’t out of the question many times. You can convince yourself there is no 2nd chance. But that is possibly FUD happening again.

So let’s face it 🙂 there are many obstacles in your way. Creating more isn’t a good idea. I am working on over coming my FUD factors – it is something that is going to take constant reminding – starting from ME. Remembering that HE is there for me always. Taking the time to make the time to be ready.

Now how about you? It starts with you.

Overcoming Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (vincefrese.wordpress.com)

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Acceptance, attitude, choices, Doing new things, Doubt, Fear, FUD factor, Life, moments, Postive Thinking, Preparation, uncertainty and doubt

01 Oct 2013

Meaning

Meaning. A big word that means a lot. People are looking for meaning in life, and wanting meaning in what they do. I know it is important to me, and it seem to be that every one is seeking it.

Maybe it is a meaning for the job? After getting paid, it would be nice to know that you are a contributor, that you make a difference in the job, that you get recognized for the work you have done.

Maybe it is understanding “why” – defining the meaning to injustice in our lives and the world around us, the unfair things that happen to others, to you. Understanding why people are violently hurting each other, hating each other, making life miserable for others.

It could be the ultimate “meaning of life“- looking for the spiritual center. Are we really only on earth for such a short time only to have it all end? Is there something more? What are we supposed to do while we are here on earth? (that is a topic for another day, but it is clear then that eternity matters most).

People want meaning in their lives too. So many want to mean something to someone. To the ones they love, to their family and friends. They want to be significant in their lives.

There is the gallant goal of doing something meaningful (good or bad) in life. Showing mankind that you have something more to give can make for a lifelong task. Sometimes achieved, sometimes never reached. Not all the heavy stuff of Kant’s enlightenment or something. Just searching.

So in the end- what is that driving meaning in your life? Can you reach for it? Is it elusive or in-reach? Are you always looking elsewhere and not right in front of you? It can be so simple I think, yet so difficult to find. It can be a daily driving force. A preoccupation that can consume us. It can find us somewhere in a “hollow” place, It can be infinitely rewarding.

Here’s my take on it: Look for it in the closest places. In your heart not your mind, in the eyes of others, in the places that provide peace in your life. Look for it in God, look for it in the air you breathe. Breathe in. The meaning is there.

The meaning of life per perspective. (williamkiddjr.wordpress.com)
Youth ,hopes and dreams- meaning to life (rajatkumar1069.wordpress.com)

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, choices, Fear, God, Grace, Happiness, Joy, Meaning of life, moments, Philosophy, Reality Check, Religion and Spirituality, Searching for Significance, Who Are You

12 Jun 2013

Hitchcock’s Revenge

There was something eerie about last night. Not sure what. It reminded me of this …which I wrote a long, long time ago. Seems he always comes to mind when things bump in the night.

Movements through shadows belonging to no one

Bright lights shining in quiet cold darkness

Sharp breezes blowing without a direction

Sounds unexplained that are heard out of sight

Echoes of footsteps that never come closer

Distant rumbles from lighting unseen near the trees

Shapes that are formed with the blink of an eyeball

Large looming clouds that light dull in the night

Heartbeats go faster and breath’s become shorter

As mysterious movements rush past in the dark

With eyes that follow but don’t have a face

The full moon once glowing sinks into the marshes

The night grows colder with death in the air

The mind plays tricks when Hitchcock enters-

“Good evening”, good night and goodbye to them all

Posted in Poems, Prayers and Promises and tagged Alfred Hitchcock, bump in the night, Doubt, Fear, Hitchcock, Memories, Movies, Poems, Poetry, scary movies, Verse

16 May 2013

2 Comments

Finding Your Happier Life

Finding a happier life seems somehow elusive, but we have to admit there are barriers that we create.

You know about those things that get in your way of finding the path to improving your daily life, in a spiritual way and in a contextual way. Enjoying the passage of time is a simple foundation of life. But you cannot let barriers get in your way.

A recent article I read reminded me of something a very wise man had taught me years ago. It’s not about money or possessions that make for an enjoyable life. It is more the self-realization that you cannot allow these “Five D’s” to stop you from your journey.

Discouragement. You convince yourself that no matter what you do, your life is never going to get any better . That life is always going to be a painful hurdle, things will never change and you might as well not try.
Doubt. You start to think that you are not worthy of a better life or happiness in your life. Chipping away at the hope you have in yourself and those around you. You 2nd guess your decisions.
Delay. You have worked so hard to make things better in your life, you focus on the positive and don’t like doubt or discouragement get you down. But nothing changes, things still seem to be the same… frustrations, the same as before, and if it hasn’t happened with your effort, it isn’t likely to happen now.
Difficulty. Things are way too hard when they appear that they shouldn’t be. You look around it and “looks” like life is easier for others around you. But not for you. Everything seems difficult. Even the littlest things seem big and hard work.
Depression. So the other 4 “D”s have been wrapped around you like a cloak. You are letting them. You are finding ways to let them and you finally give-in and decide that you don’t even feel like making the effort to change anything in your life. It may even feel like things are “better” if you just don’t do anything and wallow in the sadness and the hopelessness.

They are a barriers between you and your spiritual welfare. Your faith in God. Your ability to enjoy the time here on Earth and share your life with others, as well as center your own well-being.

The first step to a better life is to recognize these barriers. Don’t let them consume you. If you think that is hard, it is probably one of the five D’s applied… and the cycle will continue.

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Acceptance, choices, Depression, DIscouragement, Doubt, Faith, Fear, God, Happiness, Hope, mental-health, Postive Thinking, Religion and Spirituality, Self-esteem

09 May 2013

Behind Every Door

Behind every door is a story. And every one of them is personal.

Recently in Cleveland Ohio USA, three women emerged from the horror of being secretly locked up and tortured and raped for ten years, while the rest of the world moved by the house and the doors and windows where so much pain and anger was hidden. It is one that was discovered, but you can’t help thinking there are so many equally terrifying stories. People living in the private walls of their lives in a way that most may not understand, while yet others may recognize as their own…

So we pass by doors of people’s lives every day, some real, some just figuratively. We may often ignore the idea of what is behind those doors.There stories for every door, so many stories. Stories of loneliness, pain, anger, sadness, hopelessness, guilt and so many more of the agonies that we humans have been dealt. We try to reflect ourselves on those doors. In our heads and lives we see those doors as similar or identical to ours, of we find ourselves threatened by the idea that there are things much worse.

Behind those doors there is certainly good and bad, because everyone has their own demons and challenges. I know someone who is living the pain and challenges of a brain tumor. His family is dealing with all that emotion, all that goes with the disease and the stark mortality that is a constant part of their lives. It is the struggle behind a door that many will pass every day. Most will never know.

Seems like in this world of high-speed connections, Internet friendships and text messaging – the opportunity to have those relationships we need- those connections behind those doors have been damaged. It is lost behind the locks of the doors that divide us. That contain so many stories that deserve compassion, deserve to be discovered. Need to understand there is hope.