How to Overcome Fear: ‘See Paris First’

I've always had a fondness for poetry. With metaphor and imagery, rhythm and sound, the poet breathes life into the abstract to plumb our shared humanity. Not only is 'See Paris First' a perfect example of poetry's ability to express the inexpressible, it powerfully encapsulates my own relationship with fear—and I imagine many of yours too. How often do we allow fear to paralyze us? Let it blind us to life's joys? Discover that more we try to contain it, the more it in fact controls us? Our days are riddled with avoidances big and small, all of them born of fear: that we won't be good enough, that it'll be too hard, that we'll be rejected. The poem's characterization of fear as a force that closes in from all quarters of the globe paints stark picture indeed.

Yet in this vast and uncertain terrain, we are granted a clear, definitive answer on how to overcome fear: a friend who learns our secret. Not one who demands that that we tell our secret, but one who sees beneath our 'timid part' then stands at our back as we about-face and plunge headlong into the fray. Who is this friend in your life? And more importantly, for whom are you that friend? 'See Paris First' is a priceless reminder that together we can do what we cannot do alone, and that when we face our fears we reclaim their power over us. Lately when I catch myself in avoidance I whisper, 'See Paris First, Anne'. Today I invite you to try this mantra on for size, to share it with someone else, and to walk shoulder-to-shoulder as we journey to Paris!

P.S. This post marks the start of a new series. In an effort to enrich the satisfaction I derive from this blog (and hopefully yours too!) every week I'll reflect on a poem, passage, or other morsel of food for thought that has touched me recently. I'd love feedback and suggestions on how to make this series valuable and relevant for you!