I got that book back when it first came out, and I remember reading it and really taking it to heart. Perhaps it was one of the reasons I started law school at 55? And yes, I did finish.
I've been pretty good at handling fear, with one exception, and that's a constant struggle. I can overcome it for a while, then when I'm low it comes back and bites me. Of course, that's usually when I need to use that skill...
When fear is related to creative endeavors I must work very hard to recognize it. I have improved with my ability to recognize fear in dealing with people - it is more difficult for me to recognize when I own it and it relates to a creative experience. For me part of the strategy is very basic - it is "remembering" that fear is usually what's behind anger disappointment, or procrastination. I try to remember Rumi's idea that "This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness..." I've been working on recognizing fear, welcoming it, and then trying to figure out what role fear is playing, and how it might actually help me. I think the other element that helps me deal with fear when it is present in my creative life, is reminding myself of one of my drawing teachers. Her arthritis caused her hands to be so contorted that she tied a pencil to her hand to draw. Her desire to create overpowered physical pain. I can only assume, and I prefer to believe, that she had overcome emotional barriers, fear, as well.
Commenting by HaloScan
