Messages From Beyond

Sit With It.

Give the fear a right to exist – sit with it a while, wanting nothing, fixing nothing. The solution can wait.

When something goes sideways, my first response is speed. Fix it, explain myself, smooth it over – before the feeling underneath gets a chance to catch up. It looks like responsibility. Mostly it is fear with a to-do list, and every hurried move digs me in deeper.

The letter interrupts exactly there, with an instruction that sounds like doing nothing: accept that you are afraid. Feel the fear. Give it a right to exist – for a while, wanting nothing, fixing nothing. It doesn't need a solution right now. "Fear Demands Control" named the mechanism behind the hurry; "Boundaries" knows the second half of this letter too – the bending, and the fear underneath it.

If your week has one of those situations in it, read this one slowly. The to-do list can wait ten minutes.

Dear traveler,

What you are feeling is fear. Fear from losing control, fear of failing, and fear of not pleasing. And you want to get rid of this feeling immediately, with all your strength. And out of it comes a rush into action that only leads you deeper into the mess you feel.

Start with yourself first: Simply accept, for once, that you are afraid. Feel the fear. Give it a right to exist. Be with it for a while. Without wanting anything, without doing anything. It doesn't need a solution right now.

And then: Do you still remember? Don't bend yourself for others. Do your things the way they feel good to you. Behind the bending, too, lies fear. Fear of conflict. Don't lose yourself just because you are afraid. Be yourself – and defend your being-yourself, too. Because the fear of consequences is also just fear.

Remember: You are fully taken care of. The right things happen at the right moment. You are in the right place at the right time.

Thank you for being here.

If something in these letters stayed with you, take it along – think about it, write your own answer, or just let it sit.

And if not today, that's okay too. There's no rush.

Until next time,
– Jan

Fear Demands Control

One moment you love what you made; the next it looks small and you feel exposed. A letter about self-doubt, and letting the work go its own way.

Boundaries

Another yes you didn't mean, another evening carrying what isn't yours – a letter about boundaries, and the fear underneath them.

If you're new here: these letters are part of a daily writing practice. Read more here.

Messages from Beyond

A daily practice: I ask a question – of the universe, of Love, of the great Beyond – and write down the answer that comes. Here are the ones about creating.