Don’t Be Afraid :)

One of my dearest best friends was telling me yesterday :) they’ve received a wonderful opportunity in life :) to be able to give :) serve :) and help :) a lot more people :) My best friend is already a really generous :) and helpful :) caring :) person :) so they’ve already been helping a lot of people :) doing a lot of good :) And now they’re getting an opportunity to expand on this :) by doing even more :)

But my best friend told me they weren’t sure about taking up the new opportunity. For two reasons, they said. 1. They were scared they wouldn’t be competent, wouldn’t be good enough, to fulfil and complete all the duties involved, and 2. They were scared about losing the opportunity to keep doing their present duties, because they really love doing all the good things involved in their present duties.

I know my best friend very well :) so I immediately was able to reassure them they’re more than good enough :) and more than competent :) to take on the challenges involved :) I know they can do it :) They’ve already been doing so much good work :) I also reassured them that when they start in their new duties, they’ll be new to the tasks involved, and they don’t have to be perfect :) nobody expects them to be perfect :) and they’re allowed to make mistakes :) and learn :) over time :)

My best friend then made the comment that if they’re stuck with any problem or don’t know the answer to any questions, they can always ask for help from many of the people surrounding them :) In other words :) they don’t have to be able to fulfil :) and completely :) any :) or all tasks :) involved on their own :) They’ve got a team :) backing them up :) that they can work together with :) and learn and grow together with :) In fact :) this is one of the best ways to learn and grow :) i.e. together :) as a team :)

My best friend has already been so helpful to so many of the people who’ll be surrounding them and supporting them :) in their new duties :) so they have a group of people who really like them :) appreciate them :) and will be happy to help them :) in whatever ways they need too :) They have a group of best friends :) who will be all around them :) who they can rely upon :) whom they can call upon for help at any time :) because they care about :) and like :) my best friend :) and trust them :)

This is one of the huge benefits of being really selflessly helpful :) and kind :) to other people :) (and animals :) or even the environment) :) without wanting anything in return :) i.e. people really appreciate when you’re kind and helpful to them :) with pure motivations :) and no strings attached :) and they become best friends to you :) and really helpful in return :) When we really care :) about people :) animals :) and the environment :) the people :) animals :) and environment :) thrive :) and just naturally care about us in return :) This is how trust builds :) from ethics :) and helpfulness :)

There’s a lovely freedom that arises :) from giving :) as well as receiving :) Even in the case of the environment :) a well-cared-for environment :) of trees :) or plants :) provides all sorts of beauty :) peace :) shade :) shelter :) vegetables :) fruits :) and/or seeds for us :) to take comfort in :)

Regarding my best friend’s second set of fears, that they would lose the opportunity to do their present duties, if they took up an expansive set of new duties, my best friend was clever :) and resourceful :) They managed to communicate :) and find a compromise :) so they can keep some of their present duties :) while taking up more new duties :) I also encouraged them :) not to be afraid of change :) in life :) because change is such an inseparable part of life :) it virtually is life :) Life is change :) and change is life :) So we shouldn’t be afraid of it :) We should cultivate an attitude of accepting :) forgiving :) and embracing change :) wholeheartedly :) so we can fully embrace life :)

My best friend’s smart :) like all people :) and animals :) and even nature too :) When we’re given good guidance :) and do loads of good things :) in a good way :) we start to shine through :) a lot of understanding :) care :) and generosity :) I could see my best friend was understanding what I was talking about :) I could see they were feeling more comfortable about the possibility of taking up the new opportunity :) and feeling happier :) and healthier :) the more understanding :) they absorbed :)

I mentioned how I’d written in the book that the happiness of life :) for all of us :) as human beings :) is in being compassionate :) caring :) kind :) and my best friend had a really interesting response to this :) They said they’d not understood the concept that the happiness of our lives comes from compassion, when they first read my book :) They said this idea was a foreign concept to them :) and that they thought many other people would find it an unfamiliar or even strange idea too :) But the brilliant thing was :) my best friend told me they now completely understand what I was talking about :) They’ve studied :) learned :) and grown :) in understanding :) of the science of the mind :)

I thought this was so excellent :)

They’ve become a much happier :) healthier :) and increasingly helpful :) person :) through all their excellent training :) in this science :) They’ve learned so much about this science :) that’s all about helping us understand :) how our minds :) and hearts :) really works :) and activating our potential :)

I asked my friend whether they felt that if they took on the new duties, they’d be doing more good things :) and they replied yes :) So I encouraged my best friend not to be afraid of doing more good things :) I encouraged them not to be afraid of taking up more responsibility :) I encouraged them not to be afraid to make mistakes :) I encouraged them not to be afraid to try the experiment :) not to be afraid of a bit of adventure :) excitement :) not to be afraid of doing some trial and error :) not to be afraid to do a trial of the new duties at least :) so they can at least work out whether doing the new duties is an error :) or not :)

I encouraged my friend not to be afraid :) Take courage :) Be brave :) in doing goodnesses :)

If it doesn’t work out for my best friend :) or for any of us :) when we’re trying to do goodness :) in this world :) it doesn’t matter :) At least we tried :) I told my best friend that worst case scenario, if it isn’t good for some reason, or it isn’t working out for any reason, they can just pull out of the new duties :) and go back to their old duties :) or if the old duties aren’t available anymore :) and the new duties aren’t suitable :) they can move on to some other goodnesses :) in life :) Things are always changing :) and there’s always so many goodnesses we can get involved in :) We’re spoiled for choice really :) it occurs to me now :) when it comes to choosing goodnesses :) in this world to contribute to :) and participate in :) There’s a freedom from so much worry :) in this sort of comforting :) perspective :)

As I drove home :) a bit later :) after my talk with my best friend yesterday :) some fears :) some negative thoughts :) were coming up in my own mind :) and the response to this sort of thing was just so automatic in my mind now :) ‘What if it goes good?’ :) came the reassuring thought in my mind :) and my fears dissipated and dissolved :) I had a bit of fear regarding whether some people liked me shortly after, that maybe they disliked me, and I thought to myself automatically, ‘What if they like me? :) Or even better, what if I like them? :) regardless of whether they like me or not?’ :) and I realised I didn’t care :) didn’t fear :) whether anyone likes me :) because it doesn’t matter to me anymore whether other people like me :) It’s not important :) The only thing that matters to me now :) that’s important :) is that I like them :)

I like people :) Healthy people like people :) So if someone doesn’t like me :) it just means they’re not healthy, yet :) Hopefully I’ll get a chance to share some health with them :)

Even if or when anything goes bad in life :) there’s always so many good thoughts :) good words :) and good things we can do :) that we can get right back into :) as soon as the bad thing’s finished :) We keep our minds :) and hearts :) firmly inclined to the good :) interested :) and involved :) in the good things :) absorbed in good things :) soaked in good stuff :) we imbibe goodness into our heart-centres :) and this is our ‘WildLife Sanctuary’ :) i.e. our sanctuary :) our shelter :) our halfway-house :) in our hearts :) and our minds :) in the middle of our lives :) that can be a bit wild sometimes :)

It doesn’t matter what other people are doing :) or thinking :) or saying :) It only matters :) what you’re thinking :) saying :) and doing :) Make it positive :) Take heart :) Don’t be afraid :) Be brave :) Be courageous :) when it comes to doing good things :) (And of course, if it’s anything bad you’re involved in, or thinking of getting involved in, be afraid :) be very afraid :) and make sure to stay away from that bad stuff :) any bad thoughts :) bad words :) or bad acts) :)