Tag: fear.less

Another fearless story

There’s been a fair amount of conversation recently on this blog about hope, and why people keep going in the face of hopelessness. Sometimes the universe demonstrates lovely timing: along comes a beautiful new ebook from Fear.less, written by Mawi Asgedom, that is all about hope and perseverance. Asgedom packs a lot into a small (six page) package, and what speaks to me most right now is his talk of courage, resilience and advice on how to persevere.

The moment of courage in a human being’s life is when all the indicators around you tell you that nothing’s going to work out, when you don’t have any evidence whatsoever that makes you feel like you’re going to be happy again. At that specific moment, when you can still step up and do your best, just because you believe that outside your own logic and reason it’s possible in the world, and you’re going to fight for it, that to me is what courage is all about.
 
— Mawi Asgedom

So many stories revolve around a hero faced with the choice to give up or keep going. Those are powerful stories, and they form the core of some of our most hardline cultural beliefs: that perseverance is all we need to win (if you work hard enough, you can do anything), and that stopping equals failure (a winner never quits and a quitter never wins). We put the emphasis on the results. But Asgedom also puts emphasis on the process: on knowing that when faced with the choice, we did our best.

I’m not here to say that persevering is always the right thing; sometimes stopping is the best choice. Billions of human lives have been lived as a string of such choices. I think Asgedom’s deeper point is that we have a choice, and we get to make it over and over again. It’s a lifetime’s journey. If you make a choice you don’t like, then make a different choice next time. Life doesn’t stop when we choose: it only stops when we don’t.

Download the ebook and share it as you like. Sign up at Fear.less to get more as they are released. And let me know what you think.

Wishing you more joy, more love, more hope, less fear.

fear.less

There’s a new kid in town, one of those neighborhood champions who will get in between you and the big bully — the one with the scabs on his knuckles from knocking down a thousand just like you — stick out her chin and say You leave my friend alone! And because it’s not just you anymore, Scabby Bully Kid will sometimes go away.

That bully is fear, and fear.less is the new online magazine that’s here to help us all square off against it. To help us help each other, by giving space for people to tell their stories and spread their experiences, ideas, ruminations, affirmations, and sometimes just raise their fists against all the things that make us afraid.

Fear.less is the creation of Ishita Gupta and Clay Hebert — a place where:

Every story you read is an example of conquering fear, whether an immediate physical danger, the looming threat of failure, the pressure to compete in a changing world, the incessant quest for identity, or the overwhelming uncertainty of death.
 
— from About fear.less

They’ve just put out their first preview of what you can expect in the magazine: from photographer Platon, reflections on fear, honesty, preparation and bringing your own true self to the party. See for yourself in this lovely PDF. If you like it, you’re welcome to save a copy for yourself, and spread copies far and wide.

Life can be so very good, but it’s rarely good in a vacuum of self. We’re here together, and that matters. We’re creatures made of soul, made for joy and love, and anything that gets in the way of that needs to get its front teeth knocked out. We’re all the kid being bullied. We can be the champions too.

(You can also find fear.less on Facebook and Twitter. Ishita and Clay, thanks very much for your permission to make Platon’s story available here.)