Paul Fernandes.

Face your fears, don’t run away.

“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.” ― Paulo Coelho, Alchemist.

I was twelve years old and my brother was seven. One afternoon we decided to go for a cycle ride, so he sat behind on the cycle as I was riding. We had gone on many rides before, but this was the most painful ride that I ever had. I remember the words which I told my younger brother “Hold on tight” as we were approaching a very steep slope. Within seconds the horror struck. The cycle slipped, I tried my best to control it, pressed the brakes but they were stuck. All I could see was a pile of huge stones ahead of me and I feared the worst. My brother screamed “stop, stop”. I had no idea what to do, I was desperately trying to press the breaks ,for a moment the breaks worked, but trying to apply sudden breaks on a steep slope, the cycle slipped even more ,It threw my brother off from the bicycle on a pile of sand. “I am fine he said” that was a relief, but now it was my turn – two choices were before me ,First choice- either to jump off the cycle , in which case I will have multiple fractures or aim at the pile of stones ,with a risk of banging my head. Before I could decide I had hit my head on the pile of stones. “All I could see was darkness” . My head was bleeding and I had bruises all over my body.

I and my brother survived the accident but the effect it had on me was more painful than the scars it left. I never wanted to touch the bicycle or bike again and every time I was on a bike with someone else riding it, I would close my eyes when we approached a slope. Years went by and I was just too frighten to ride a vehicle. Last year, I decided I will ride again and I knew “the only way to overcome the fear was not to run away but to face it”. It took time, determination, belief and courage to overcome the fear. We cannot run away from our fears, we have to face it one time or the other.

What are the things you fear the most, which is not allowing you to live a happy life? Is it fear of speaking in public or is it that you are afraid to trust someone else, just because you were hurt in the past? Whatever it may be it’s a choice set before you either to face it or keep running away from it.

Today when I look back, this experience has thought me to value life. Some of us take life for granted and we only realize the value of it, as it slips away from us. Same goes with our relationships – some only realize the value of a person when they are no longer with them. I don’t mean we should not enjoy our life , we should and it’s our right, but not at the cost of taking foolish risks. We have one life to live, let’s not take it for granted.

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We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.-Galileo Galilei.

With Gratitude.

Paul Fernandes

Founder

Imagination Breathing.

(Inspiring Lives).