Fear Is Teacher

"Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is, they are intimate with Fear."

-Pema Chodron

Hi.

My name's Jenny. I'm a clinical social worker, newbie mountain biker, evangelical yogi, wanderer, wonderer, seeker. In 2013, I turned thirty, my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer and I started this blog.

Stepping into a new decade, it wasn't the stray grey hair or threat of a slowing metabolism that scared me. Well, okay. Maybe a little. But really, it was the realization that I'd lived thirty whole years already. Gone! Done! Finito! Where had I been? Suddenly the fear that had kept me from fully engaging in my life met a worthy adversary: the fear that if I didn't start paying better attention, I'd miss the next thirty--I'd miss out on Really Being Here, on this incredible planet, as this complicated human.

Standing next to my friend through her cancer journey, I wasn't afraid that she wouldn't make it. That wasn't an option I was willing to entertain. I was scared instead that when cancer became a memory, we'd go back to life as usual and lose the precious lessons that grief & illness had handed us.

There've been times in my life when I've resisted what I feared and it has paralyzed me, and there've been times when I've opened to fear or been open by it, and I've been transformed. I like the second one better.

This blog is my commitment to standing still, staying open, and becoming intimate with fear--on my yoga mat and in life. Stop by anytime to follow me on my journey, and share your story!