Choice

I was thinking about paralysis from fear of the future, realizing that the things that cause the fear are going to be a part of any future I choose. I'm not going to be able to escape suffering, I'm not going to be able to escape failure, abandonment and pain. In realizing this I didn't feel despair, instead I felt very freed. Nothing I do is going to allow me to escape agony and atrocity, so I shouldn't let fear of these things freeze me. I need to choose the life that will make living through these things worthwhile, I need to choose the life that will sustain me through the horrors (because they're going to come, whether I like it or not), and I have a chance to make that choice. I have the opportunity to pursue a life of incarnation, joy and flourishing.