One of the cornerstones of “woo” spirituality suggests that we’re in the world to learn to turn towards love, away from fear. I’m pretty sure this is true.
Life gives many opportunities for this. It presents us with threats, challenges, inconveniences…all of which perturb us to the exact degree we have something to learn from them.
Often, the most irritating things we encounter in others are directly linked to our own issues. I might say, “That guy so loud and annoying, I hate how he has to be the center of attention.”
To which an observant person might say, “Well, Nicholas, could it be that you’re jealous? Jealous of how comfortable he is asking for attention and getting it, and maybe a little resentful that you haven’t learned how to ask for attention yet?”
To which I might grumble and say, “yeah, well still, why does he get to be so happy?”
And to which you might reasonably say, “maybe if you learn your lessons, you too could be happy.
Fear is usually the biggest obstacle to growth. In fact, I think moving through the fear, facing it consciously is probably the biggest component of growth. So the obstacle provides the clue to overcoming itself.
And if that’s true, maybe it’s the case that you could have anything you wanted if you could let go of the fear and live completely in love.