Fear as our walking stick. . .

Many years ago in a shamanic workshop the instructor ended the lecture with the following quote: 

"Allow fear to be your walking stick"

Her words echoed in my mind again when I recently received word of her passing.  I was saddened by this news because she had brought forth a lot amazing wisdom and teachings in her classes.  I had admired her greatly.  Fears are universal to everyone on the planet.  We all have a fear or fears about something.  Are we loveable?  Are we worthy?  Are we pretty enough?  Good looking enough?  Smart enough?  Acceptable?  Nurturing enough?, etc.  How does fear run our lives?  Do we find ourselves unable to move forward because we are stuck in the past?  Do we blame our parents, siblings, ex-lovers and friends for our inability to move forward?  Do we feel so consumed by our fears that we are spiritually paralyzed?  Ask yourself what would be the worst thing that would happen if you were really found out to be unloveable, unworthy, ugly, stupid, un-nurturing, a bad parent, a rotten student or a terrible employee?  Would your world end?  No.  Would you die?  No.  You would, however, have met your fear(s) head-on and disempowered them.  You would have also re-claimed all the power you have given to your fears over the years.  Allowing fear to be our walking stick, enables us to move forward from a place of wisdom.  We understand our fears, we know them to be a part of who we are, but we use them to propel us forward on the path.  Taking one baby step at a time, we see our fears become less important and less intense.  In time, we see fear as a wonderful teacher enabling us to see the human-ness within all of us.  (Thank you JC for your amazing lessons.  I will remember and cherish my teachings from you.)