
Fear, just typing out this word makes me feel anxious. It is an emotion that I struggle with on a continuous basis.
I am sure there are many of you who live with a chronic illness 24/7 who are also in the same boat, and it is not a cruise or a party boat. Instead, it is one that you fear may sink, capsize, or may not make it to your preferred destination.
So my question for you today is, IF you experience fear, how do you handle this emotion?
As always, thank you so very much for stopping by today. I appreciate each and EVERY one of you who visit here, you are a blessing.
I remember to breathe.
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Oh Bojana……..you are so very right! In the midst of fear we (at least me) stop breathing normally and that just perpetuates the fear. Breathing is so very very important. Thank you for the gentle reminder my friend.
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I started practicing yoga. It helps a lot not to forget and how to breathe the right way.
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I love that you have found this helpful! Thank you for sharing this too!
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First thing after my stroke, I felt anxious. I learned to rationalise things by telling myself that these were things I had bone many times pre-stroke, that the risk was unchanged, and so therefore the anxiety must have been caused by my perception.
Nowadays, what’s the worst that can happen?
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Thank you so very much for your insightful comments, I really appreciate them. I love how you really thought about why you were anxious and realized there was nothing “new” to fear. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I hope today is treating you well.
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I think about everything – probably too much! But actually, I think “why” becomes more important as we get older.
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I can completely relate!!!
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My Dear Wendi, my heart goes to everyone who lives with a chronic illness 24/7. I do not but I have cases in my family. It’s hard. I think getting involved in arts may help: painting, writing, etc.
However, we all need love and understanding. I believe people who live with a chronic illness need PLENTY of love and understanding.
Sending you blessings and hugs.
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Thank you SO very much for your kind words! Those of us who live this reality appreciate love and understanding…….it is so very precious. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. I hope today is being good to you.
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My pleasure Wendi. Well, I am not so well. I sprained an ankle about a month ago and I rapture one ligament. But I should not complain. I will be fine. I just need to be patient.
Sending you more love and blessings.
xoxo
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oh NO! that is horrible and very painful. I am so very, very sorry you are going through this. I have sent up a prayer for your complete healing…
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Thank you for the prayer Wendi. It means the world to me.
xoxoxo…
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it is truly my pleasure….
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❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
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As Susan jeffers book titled ” feel the fear and do it anywat”. Honestly I basically take baby steps and do what I fear. I think it is the only way for me. Otherwise fear can paralyse.
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Thank you so very much for leaving these VERY helpful comments……..I love that you do it anyway! Bless you for sharing!
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Honestly it is the only way. Then when it is done I am like why did I make such a fuss..🤪
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🙂 thank you so much for being part of this discussion!
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Wendi, yes I have fear in my stomach at times and the only way I deal with it is through prayer. And then I make sure I immerse myself in things that bring me peace and love. Much love to you! xo
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Thank you so very much AmyRose for leaving your lovely comments. Prayer is such a powerful tool, as the more I pray the more calm I feel. I think it is WONDERFUL that you immerse yourself in things that bring you peace and love, and we get to benefit from a few of those! How lucky are we!?
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Yes lucky indeed that we have God in our hearts and that He takes such good care of us!! SMILING!! xo
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Amen!
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The fears I have are future-oriented rather than present-oriented, so I try to keep my focus on right now.
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Thank you so very much for sharing this……..I love how you are able to focus on the here and now! I hope today is treating you well. Sending you smiles. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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🤗
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Great post! Fear is universal. Our reaction is individual. MOVEMENT always helps me let go of the fear. It doesn’t have to be long or hard. Just long enough to move out of the basement of my brain, where fear resides. I think you’ll enjoy my latest post too. Reminding myself that I am love. and enough. always helps! Andrea xo
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Thank you so very much for taking time to stop by and leave your helpful comments. I deeply appreciate it. I am very blessed that I am able to walk so I try to take advantage of this when I am able.
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I have a sister with a chronic health condition due to a stroke at age 19. So I especially appreciate your creative ways of sharing coping with your disabilities. You are a gift Wendi. xo
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I am so very sorry to read about your sister. I can’t imagine her struggles through the years. Bless you for your kind words, I am deeply humbled…….I hope today is treating you and yours well.
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❤️❤️❤️
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Fear is awful.😯 This is one of my favorite fear quotes:
“Fear is the biggest Disability of all. It will Paralyze you more than being in a Wheelchair” – Nick Vujicic.
Love you friend and thank God for you and your prayers!!
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Hey girl!!! It is so good to see you! Great quote and I love Nick. I got to see him live a few years ago and it was life changing. I hope today is being kind to you and yours….
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I would have loved that! He’s funny too.😂😄❤ Love you and hugs, hugs!
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thank you and so much love right on back!
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❤🤗
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Fear has great purpose, it keeps us alive. It asks us to move beyond a point that has us stuck, it challenges us. In fact, we can be afraid, like our first attempt at parachuting or riding big rapids. It is a life giver. But it is when it becomes a weight and we struggle to move that it begins to distort our lives, holding us back and not allowing our freedom that it keeps us stagnant.
Now don’t get me wrong, we DO need to touch those places because some things are difficult and we need to build a courage and love to make us believe in ourselves, and it is in those big times that we achieve the one thing that nothing else can…that courage in who we are to challenge that love of ourselves. Because if we are never challenged, how then can we find them? ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋
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Mark, thank you so very much for leaving such a beautiful response……..I know I say this a lot, but you always leave words that make me pause and think and then re-read what you have written. Thank you so much for taking the time to share what has worked for you, I am very grateful!
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Thank you kind lady! And it has been a blessing for the comment to come through. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. It must have had something to say 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋
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You always have something very helpful and insightful to say and I appreciate every – single – comment. God bless you!
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To me, fear is the opposite of love. If I am in fear then I am not able to be loving myself or those around me. To awfulize the future based on how much pain I am in today, or how much less walking I can do today, paints a fearful picture. It prevents me from finding the small pleasures that also arise moment by moment every day. Learning to change the fear dial to another frequency is worthwhile hard work. As someone else posted, I turn to creativity or to invest myself in helping somebody else.
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This is absolutely beautiful…….I never thought of fear being the opposite of love and this has given me a lot to think about. Thank you so much for stopping by to join in the discussion, I really appreciate reading your thoughts. I hope today is being good to you and yours.
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Breathing is essential but over my lifetime I have tried to confront my various fears. Theoretically I know they are illogical so I immerse myself until I conquer it …
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Thank you so very much for sharing this Kathy! I LOVE that you immerse yourself until they are conquered! You are such a strong spirit and I so enjoy reading your comments! I hope today is bringing you smiles. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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sure is, a nice cooler day so getting more jobs done 🙂
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sounds wonderful. 🙂 🙂
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It’s not easy Wendi. We have loved ones though we can talk about it with. And then there is prayer.
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Thank you so very much for sharing. I am thrilled you have loved ones to speak with…….and prayer, I agree, this is essential! I hope today is being kind to both of you.
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Blessings! 🙂
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Praying for you.
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awww……..thank you, I am humbled!
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🙂
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1 Are you weary, are you heavyhearted?
Tell it to Jesus,
Tell it to Jesus;
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Chorus:
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that’s well known;
You’ve no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.
2 Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Tell it to Jesus,
Tell it to Jesus;
Have you sins that to men’s eyes are hidden?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
[Chorus]
3 Do you fear the gath’ring clouds of sorrow?
Tell it to Jesus,
Tell it to Jesus;
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
[Chorus]
4 Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
Tell it to Jesus,
Tell it to Jesus;
For Christ’s coming kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
😁
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Thank you so very much Kathy for sharing this beautiful song. I have never heard it before so I am going to look up the words and see if I can find it on YouTube. God bless you.
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It’s a beautiful hymn; I hope you find and listen to it.
I feel that, besides the theme of the hymn, singing hymns to God goes a long way in relieving my fears and reminding me of the peace I have in Jesus.
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🙂 just reading your words is comforting! I can feel your peace in your writing………thank you.
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I handle fear by grabbing onto my rosary beads and praying, praying, praying. I find that once I do that, a wave of calm comes over me and then I see that there really is nothing to fear. God is with me. He has done a great job so far to protect me. Why would He stop now?
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Cindi, thank you very much for sharing a part of your story. This is absolutely beautiful and knowing how helpful it is to you is uplifting. I love hearing others success “stories.” Prayer and meditation has always been helpful to me and I am happy to know it helps others too. I hope today is being kind to you and yours…….God bless you.
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Fear strikes during the lows, when we are in pain, during a crisis and flare up. We seldom feel it during a good day.
I try to calm myself. To remember that it will pass again and better moments are around the corner. I remind myself that it is really out of my control. I try to surrender. Acknowledge the pain but don’t hold on to it on anxiety. I tell myself that fear and anxiety will only make me worse and contribute to even more problems, that is I succumb to it, it’s a bit like sabotaging myself. This usually helps me get through.
I wrote about last nights healing in which you appeared, and I hope many blessings are on the way to you.
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Thank you so very much for sharing such helpful tips. You are right………anxiety and worry makes everything single thing SO much worse. I love how you surrender to it and remind yourself that this too shall pass. I am trying to get better at this.
I started reading Live Your Dash! Thank you for the recommendation. 🙂
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Oh that is so wonderful and I hope you enjoy it.
As far as surrendering and staying optimistic, you know it is work in progress and it will always challenge us once time or another. The key is remembering it and then doing the best we can. That’s all we can do and when we do, we can rest and know in our hearts that we have given it our all. Hugs
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thank you for always being so darn encouraging!!! you are awesome!
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Right back at you, beautiful soul. 💙
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thank you!
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You are just welcome 🙏🏼
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🙂
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I try not to fear the future, but sometimes it creeps in. My husband is disabled and there are a lot of uncertainties, of course, I think that’s the case for all of us, no one knows what the future holds. I try not to let it dictate my thoughts. I meditate a lot, and I keep a gratitude journal. It keeps me focused on what’s really important. ❤
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You are so right……..life is full of uncertainties and we have no idea what is right around the corner. I love that you also use meditation and keep a gratitude journal. I stepped away from both for a while but recently picked it back up and it does help quite a bit. Thank you so very, very much for sharing……..I hope today is treating you and your beloved well!
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Thank you, Wendi! I hope your Monday is treating you well.
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thank you!
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I heard many years ago that faith and fear can’t live in the same space. I encounter fear often since I have pretty severe PTSD, but I am helped by remembering that God is never the author of fear. That only leaves one cloven footed culprit as the source of the fear! (Not naming any names!)
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🙂 this is beautiful Elizabeth, thank you so very much for sharing!
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Living with chronic illness can be a cause of fear not knowing when the next flare up will hit etc. What helps me the most is to listen to worship music and be in the presence of God.
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Thank you so very much for sharing this! I really appreciate your helpful tips. I hope today is treating you well and your day is bringing you peace and smiles. 🙂 🙂
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“it’s not a cruise or a party boat” – you are so right. Fear is a constant. Ignoring it isn’t a solution, but letting it overwhelm us isn’t either. It’s that serenity prayer – do what we can and let the rest go. So appreciate that you here Wendi, to lead the conversation so that none of us is alone.
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awww……..VJ, thank you so very much for your kind and thoughtful comments. They made my heart swell on a day that it is especially appreciated. It is definitely a tightrope that we walk when dealing with fear. Bless you for sharing your thoughts!
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Always a pleasure, Wendi!
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🙂
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God’s light to you dear.. My prayers..!! 🙏🏼❤💕
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awww……….thank you SO very much for your kindness. Seriously, I am deeply thankful.
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🙏🏼😇🤗💕
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How to handle fear is a very difficult question, Wendi. How each of us deals with fear is also linked to our personality and attitude towards life. I control fear through positivity and being kind to others. These actions help me look outside of myself and my own circumstances and helps reduce me fear.
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Your ways of dealing with fear are absolutely beautiful Roberta! I love that you look outside of yourself by loving others where they are…………….it shows what a beautiful soul you are! Thank you so much for sharing.
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Thank you, Wendi. You are always very kind.
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bless you!
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Many struggle with fear, and 20/20 has come. To show every feared unknown, God’s love is still in the midst. Even if the fear, is unprecedented! I don’t fear anything, 52 years, God has been my heart’s firm foundation! He gave me a message, written in my last post! Be blessed!!
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Thank you so very much Warren………God is still in control and I think you wrote such a beautiful reminder! God bless you and yours.
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Hi Wendi, I have written a post on my blog in reply. Will share the link when it is published.
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Thank you so very much! Can’t wait to read it.
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Thanks 🙏
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Pingback: Living out best lives- Fear – Keep it alive
Hi Wendi, here’s my post;
http://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2020/12/08/living-out-best-lives-fear/
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thank you so very much, it was wonderful but for some reason, WP wouldn’t let me comment!?
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Thanks Wendi. I don’t know what’s the problem with WP is. Thanks again for this question
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Thank you for sharing!.. I let my heart lead the way.. “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” (Roy T. Bennett… 🙂
Hope all is well in your part of the universe and you and yours are having a wonderful holiday filled with peace, love and happiness!… 🙂
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what a GREAT quote Dutch! I think I need to print that one out and post it on my mirror! Thank you so very much for sharing this………..I hope today is pleasant one.
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Yes, I do experience it a lot. I turn to God and he comforts me with his promises and his peace. ♥️
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This is absolutely beautiful! Thank you so very much for sharing this. I hope today brought you God’s blessings! be well.
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Do you have a post that tells more about your condition, Wendi? I am only asking because I have chronic conditions, too.
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In my “about me” section lists some of my chronic illnesses but I have not written about my conditions at any length in a post……..I am sure it would bore people and it would be a downer for me too! 🙂 🙂
I would be happy to answer any questions you may have and feel free to email me through my contact page! I am so sorry that you are living with chronic illnesses too………it’s a big suck-fest if you ask me. 🙂
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Hugs! 💕
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thank you!
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Hi Wendi, it’s back to basics for me when I feel fear. I stop, breath and remember to give thanks for what I have. Life. And that I’m safe in that moment.🙏
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I love that you go to basics when you feel fear….I have also been using breathing for when I am really stressed or anxious resulting in fear – I am somewhat new at it so I still have a ways to go but it does seem to help……..great idea to remind yourself that you are safe at that moment. Thank you so much for sharing, I really appreciate your time! I hope today has been treating you well!
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((((((Wendi)))))) We are human. Knowing that Christ walked among us, feeling joy, fear, pain, anger, disappointment – and every other emotion – helps me remember that I am never alone.
I have been away from my blog for a long while and had forgotten how much I need beauty to erase fear.
Art, music, poetry, literature, nature, children, family, pets, friends….all gifts from God. ❤️
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul”. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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What an absolutely beautiful response………thank you! I am happy to see that you are back and look forward to your awesome posts. The quote you left is so lovely and absolute truth……we do need beauty in our lives every single day and how lucky are we that God provides so many opportunities to experience it!
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❤️❤️❤️😎
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