More Llama Drama
I never knew how much people like llamas! If you missed last weeks newsletter on llamas and how they handle fear, go check it out at northgatefamilychiropractic.com/blog or ask the NGFC Team for a copy. But, in the mean time let the llama drama continue!
LLAMA FACTS:
- A baby llama is called a cria
- Llamas have 2 toenails per foot
- Llamas are related to camels
- Llamas spit at each other to establish dominance
- The Llama is the national symbol of Peru (idk which is better, an eagle or a llama)
I don’t know how much llamas think about fear. I bet it’s hard to face a wolf and march straight towards it so I bet they think about fear pretty often. Im not sure about them but I sure think about fear a lot. Not that I am afraid all of the time but I am very curious as to what people are afraid of in their lives. You see fear is on the lowest end of the spectrum of life. Fear holds us down, binds us, cripples us, and leaves us desperate and miserable. It is one of the worst experiences in life! We humans will do just about anything to avoid fear. In fact most of us spend our entire lives imagining all of the things that MIGHT go wrong in the future that we are afraid of. Now lets be clear, these are most often things that have not happened but could POTENTIALLY happen. We imagine a bad future. The potential of losing our job, becoming sick from a bug, dying, people not liking us. Even if the chances of that potential future becoming reality are slim to none, we will spend days, weeks, years, often our entire lives fearing that something bad will happen. What a terrible way to live this incredible life God has given us.
Freedom is on the opposite end of the spectrum of life. Freedom to be who you are, to express yourself openly and honestly, to pursue the calling God has put on your heart and live life without fear. What a way to live! To play out your life in the moment, enjoying life as it comes and seeing the good in all things as opposed to fretting over things that which we have zero control over. Now, I’m not saying you should shirk all responsibilities and live life with abandon. God calls us all to be good stewards over the things He has entrusted to us, but freedom comes from knowing He is taking good care of us and that the worst thing that can happen in this life is that we get to go to heaven or that our loved ones get to go to heaven before us. What then shall you fear?
All of this talk of fear and freedom sounds really good on paper but what do you do about it in real life? There are two steps but they are not easy.
Step 1: Define WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU BELIEVE. The world has been TELLING you who you are and what to believe since you were born and that’s not ok. You are not the thoughts and opinions of the world or the people around you. No one even asked if you like your name! You MUST find out who you are if you want to be free. Here’s how:
Sit down in a quiet room, set a timer for 10 minutes and write down EVERYTHING you want. Your dream house, a fancy car, a new TV, EVERYTHING you have ever dreamed of having. Don’t hold back thinking that it’s selfish or silly. These are things YOU want, not the world. And don’t hold back just because you don’t see HOW you could ever have it, if you want it, write it.
The next part is where the magic happens. Next to everything you have written that you want, write down WHY you want it and then ask yourself why again, and again, and again. Example: Why do you want your dream house of 10 bedrooms overlooking a mountain lake? Because it would be awesome! Why would it be awesome? Because, I would be able to go hiking any time I like. Why do you want to go hiking? Because I love nature. Why do you love nature? Because that’s where I feel God’s presence. Boom! Part of who you are is that you love to feel God’s presence in His creation. Even though it would be awesome you don’t need a mountain lake house to do that. You can start to live your life according to what fulfills you. Freedom.
Next, you must repeat this process with the things you BELIEVE. Write down everything that you believe to be true and then ask WHY again, and again, and again. I believe in God. Why? Why? Why?
Through this process you will discover a lot about yourself. You will find out who you are and what you truly believe. You might be surprised at who you find buried beneath the garbage that the world has placed on you. But there is freedom in knowing.
Step 2: Define your fears. Now that you know who you are, to live in full freedom you need to know what you are afraid of and why. It’s the exact same process. In 10 minutes write down everything you are afraid of. Then ask why. I am afraid of speaking in front of my peers. Why? They might not like what I have to say. Why is that a bad thing? They will think less of me. Why does that matter? I want them to like me. Why? I was picked on in school so I do everything I can to fit in even at the expense of who I am.
Lastly, after you have broken down your fears, write out why those fears silly. “I don’t need the approval of others. I only need God’s approval (He made you, you have His), and my own approval.”
By defining who you are and what fears you have, you can start living a life just like a llama. You can face everything and rise. You can stand for yourself and for your principles knowing that the fears you face are nothing more than feeble threats from the enemy. Like the llama facing down the wolf, when you face your fears they will flee and in that there is ultimate freedom.
In Health and Faith,
Dr. Marc
