Doesn’t it seem like we have all the courage we’ll ever need as children and somehow we lose it as we become adults?

As a child, I used to kill roaches with my chubby bare hands, ride roller coasters that came with warning signs and climbed trees for fun. As an adult, I run screaming from bugs, read ride signs and often leave the line and I never climb trees anymore. And I don’t imagine I’d ever do so unless I’m escaping a cockroach.

What are we so afraid of now that we weren’t afraid of as kids?

It’s not our vulnerability, fear of death, abandonment or pain that’s changed. Think of how dependent and helpless children are to their caretakers and to this large, scary world.

I think it’s because we’ve forgotten where we came from. Because we can control everything from what we eat to where we live, we forget the discomfort, fear and uncertainty that comes with being alive.

But in order to grow, to become the person we were meant to be, we need to let go and bend in the wind. Instead of being closed off and hardened like winter, we must be flexible, courageous and have faith. As scary and painful as it is to be open, we must try. It’s a choice between staying harsh and cold like winter or blossoming into our true selves just as the flowers finally do in spring.

What are you running away from out of fear?

What do you need to do to embrace the brave soul you already are?