daily dribbles........: 2 BASIC EMOTIONS RULE OUR LIVES

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.

The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Love & Fear

"There are only two emotions. Love and Fear." I read this recently and had one of those aha moments. Maybe not 'Aha' as much as, "I KNOW!", because I often talk to people who are struggling about this very thing. I wish I could remember where I just saw it. The Bible talks about it, Eckhart Tolle talks about it, Dr. Dyer, Deepok etc. When I became very aware of my ego, I began to break it down. Now I look at the daily battles differently. Sometimes I forget and get caught up in the human drama and fear, but I usually sit back later and have another 'aha' moment, in retrospect, of course.

Let's start with some examples. A parent becomes enraged at their teenager for staying out after curfew and will sometimes yell at them. Why is the parent mad? Fear. They were worried. Now the teen is upset. Why? They fear that their parents don't love them anymore. Really, in my opinion, this is the cause of most of a kids anger, and/or sadness. The only 'God like' people in their lives often come across as judging them, angry, disappointed. Why is this upsetting? Because they feel unloved. They need their parents love and approval and it's hard to understand that we parents are reacting out of fear. Then they act out of fear. "Where there is Love, there can be no fear. Where there is fear, there can be no love." You say that's not true because when you are angered, or sad it's because of Love. It's not because of love, it's because of a fear that you are not loved. The fear creates other emotions that are Not love. In that moment of fear, there is not love. When you feel love, in that moment, there is no fear.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Hm. I stumbled over that last line as I read it. "where there is knowledge, it will pass away." I don't know what the true interpretation of this is, but it reminded me that when you start to 'think' about things, that fear comes in. And we know where that will lead.....it will replace love in it's truest form. Thoughts.... That's a whole other subject/blog.

Let's talk about gratitude. Are you truly grateful for each day and each experience in your life? It's probably safe to say no. When we don't get what we want, we become angry, sad, disappointed and the like. If someone else gets a promotion that you wanted, are you Truly excited for them, or do you become angry? Are you jealous? Are you sad? Probably so. And why is that? Because you are afraid.

Afraid of what that says about You! Because someone said, in a round about way, that you weren't good enough. Maybe that leads to a fear of being fired. When that person was promoted, you should be lifting them up, not tearing them down and yourself in the process. There's no love in that.

Someone else was chosen to be your good friend's best man (or bridesmaid). You become, again, sad, jealous, angry, disappointed. Maybe all of these things. Did your teacher just hand your paper back to you with a D, or F, when you were expecting an A? Did you get angry, upset, start blaming the teacher? Why? refer back to the promotion example and break it down. You fear how this defines You. But it Doesn't define you. Look at any situation in your life that does not cause you to feel love and start breaking it down. Then see where the fear lives.

Does it live in your heart? No. The heart is all about love. Does it live in your soul? No. The soul is all about love. What's left? The ego, my friends. That part of us that struggles everyday to convince us that it is who we are. We are a parent, an employee, a brother, a sister, a homeowner, a clean person, a messy person, an Irishman, an African American, a Jew, a Christian. We are tall, short, ugly, pretty, fashionable, sloppy.....on and on and on. That's not WHO we are! That's who we Think we are. Who others think we are to help define Them. That's who we've labeled ourselves to be, or others have labeled us to be. We aren't what our home says we are, our bank accounts, our cars....our 'things'...We are Love at our core. Yet everyday we are surrounded by things and labels telling us we are something different. And everyday we become more attached to those labels and trying to maintain them. Why? Fear. Who would we be without them? Well, we would be Love and Love is scary too. Why? Because we believe that it can be taken away from us. Why don't people see that this is the one thing that can Never be taken away from us because it exists in our very core. Our soul. Our God. Our life. When something causes you to feel an emotion outside of love and you are reacting internally, or externally, try and See that emotion. See that anger. Become a witness to it instead of a participant. When you become the witness, you are living in spirit. The Love is seeing the fear. Jesus said, "Do not fear, because I am always with you." He wants us to be with Him. To be in spirit, to be in Love. Have no fear....He knew what would happen if we replace love and faith with fear. We will fall.

John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

This has always been my favorite verse. Witness the fear and see it dissolve. Shine light on it. Where there is light, there cannot be darkness. Where there is darkness there cannot be light. To be like Christ isn't just about walking the walk and talking the talk. It's about his essence. The essence of God, light and love. There's a spiritual power in this love. This power transcends the material world and the ego constantly trying to replace it. Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

How does Love replace fear? Read the Corinthians bible quote above. When we live our lives in love, there is no fear because nothing can take it from us. Where there is love there is no judgement, jealousy, pride, dishonoring of others, anger etc. There is just peace. IMAGINE what great things you can do for others, if you live in peace and not fear. IMAGINE the change that can take place All around you, when you live in Love and not fear. Your love. Your God. Always with you. You just need to identify with Them. Not fear.

Next time you witness a family member, co-worker, friend, acquaintance or stranger having a bad reaction to something, someone (maybe you), Witness their reaction. SEE (with love) what they are saying and doing. Start to break it down. Ask why they are so angry, upset, verbally abrasive etc...If you know them well, you may see Right into the root of it. Right into the root of their fear. It Will be there. You will be Amazed at how you feel now. Fear cannot live in the light.