I shy away from writing about politics. No, wait, shy away is not a good phrase. I shun it it. I loathe writing about it and for me since I am not in the business it seems ludicrous as a way of life. However, with all that is going lately I am compelled to include it in today's writing. Much is going on around the world in area of political struggles and the never ending maneuvering for power. If you think about it we do it on the micro level in our everyday lives as well. Sometimes I think it is a lack of inner calm or peace that brings this about. That lack of inner calm or peace brings about fear and in turn with the fear we begin to seek power over others.

   For some reason man has always sought power over others, for personal gain, evil, yes I said evil, and some sense of safety, but I think the seeking of power is out of fear. When we fear we need to have control over our situation because once we are afraid we must admit we have lost control over our selves. It is this self control and elimination of fear that I strive for more often lately. Fear drives me more than any other emotion. It forces me to make judgments, right or wrong, about others. It forces me to make choices that may have brought about something better, but the fear of failure stopped the effort. To counter balance the notion of fear man has come up with courage. The best definition of courage I have heard is doing something while still being afraid.

   Based on the above definition we are all courageous. We go about pour daily lives doing things that we have an innate fear of, and in doing them conquer that fear and move onward. Some of these things are mundane, such as public speaking, driving to work, or asking for that raise. Others are a little more daunting and do not need description here as we can name too many. The point is we need to realize that fear is what drives us, what motivates us, the one thing that determines our life's direction is fear. We must also realize that this fear exists in everyone. Anyone who claims they are unafraid are liars, foolish and to be avoided.

   I meditate each day. Some days not in a formal sit in a lotus position and hum way, but I take time to be still and listen to myself. I quiet the cacophony of voices telling me what I should be doing, what I need to be doing and listen to the voice that tells me what I want to be doing. In this inner being I always find that spark of fear. The fear of stepping out of the norm and being ridiculed, the fear of some unknown and unknowable physical danger, the fear of being alone and the ever present fear of being wrong. I examine what it is I really want, simplify it, qualify it and study the consequences. The one thing I always realize is that the consequence of not doing the thing, the ramifications of not making an attempt always outweigh the the consequence of failure. So I focus on the doing and not the failure. I study and analyze and go through the attempt before examining the end result. Because to not try; that is the real failure, and after all it is the fear of failure that drives us all. I know it drives me as I start over, over 50.