Day Two with Deida ... Living on the Edge

It is honourable for a man to admit his fears, resistance and edge of practice. It is simply true that each man has his limit, his capacity for growth, and his destiny. But it is dishonourable for him to lie to himself or others about his real place. He shouldn't pretend he is more enlightened than he is - nor should he stop short of his actual edge. The more a man is playing his real edge, the more valuable he is as good company of other men, the more he can be trusted to be authentic and fully present. Where a man's edge is located is less important than whether he is actually living his edge in truth, rather than being lazy or deluded.

Pick an area of your life: perhaps your intimate relationship, your career, your relationship with your children, or your spiritual practice. ... Where do your fears stop you from making a larger contribution to mankind? ... if you were absolutely fearless, would you be earning your living in exactly the same way as you are now? YOUR EDGE IS WHERE YOU STOP SHORT, OR WHERE YOU COMPROMISE YOUR FULLEST GIFT, AND INSTEAD CATER TO YOUR FEARS.

Have you lost touch with the fears that are limiting and shaping your income and style of livelihood? If you have deluded yourself and feel that you are not afraid, then you are lying to yourself. All men are afraid, unless they are perfectly free. If you can not admit this, you are pretending to yourself, and to others. ...

Honour your edge. Honour your choices. Be honest with yourself about them . Be honest with your friends about them. A fearful man who knows he is fearful is far more trustable than a fearful man who isn't aware of his fear. And a fearful man who leans into his fear, living at his edge and putting his gift out there, is more trustworthy and inspirational than a fearful man who hangs back in the comfort zone, unwilling to even experience fear on a day to day level. A free man is free to acknowledge his fears, without hiding them, or hiding from them. Live with your lips pressed against your fears, kissing your fears, neither pulling back nor aggressively violating them. (The Way of the Superior Man - David Deida)

Today I start to live at my edge ...

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I know some of my fears ... those I can deal with easily ... I will do my utmost to face my fears, both the known and the unknown, and to not let them control nor conquer me ... Instead I will embrace my fears ... and overcome them with the confidence that comes from KNOWING that as I redefine myself and continue this journey of enlightenment and evolution, I am becoming a better person ...

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TODAY I will start to face down my fears and live more FULLY !!!

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By the way ... I can't help but think that THIS bit of advice from Deida is true for women too ... instead of shrinking from their fears into inaction, all of us men and women, need to live at our edge and no longer give into our fears!!!!!