***It’s Just a Little Fog

Our time in Anacortes is coming to an end, as we’re returning to Boulder in about a week. The past few weeks have been simply beautiful here with clear, sunny, blue skies filled with white puffy clouds and warm temperatures. I can tell that fall is on the way. Not only are the leaves on the big tree by the house already turning red, but yesterday morning I woke up in the middle of a cloud, surrounded by a swirling mist of fog.

One of my interviews yesterday was with an incredible man, Stephen Hopson, who is a deaf motivational speaker. In our conversation Stephen talked about how we need to “cut through the fog of fear to see where we want to go”. He believes that fear is the fog that clouds everything in our lives. Interestingly enough, as he was explaining this to me, I couldn’t help but notice the world outside my window.

The fog was present and was the perfect metaphor for what Stephen was talking about. Each morning for the past month I’ve gone into the office and looked out over the marina, full of shiny boats and beautiful scenery. Each morning I am so grateful for the simple beauty of this area, from the ocean and the trees to the boats and the birds.

However, this morning as Stephen was describing fear as the fog that clouds our life, all I could see was fog, fog and more fog. No boats. No birds, just fog. It was just perfect! For how many times do we know that the “boats” of our life are there, but when they are hidden behind the fog of fear, we sometimes wonder if they were ever really there in the first place. Spend enough time in the fog and we doubt the very existence of things we once believed to be real, like the boats in the marina.

In the fog of fear we lose depth perception, clarity and sometimes even direction. From that disoriented state, everything changes. We can no longer see our goal (the boats in the marina) and start to focus on what we can see- the fog and the fear. It’s easy to see how it happens to all of us.

What are the boats in your life- the things you want to see clearly and move towards, and what is your fog? Next time you’re feeling a little bit of fear, just remember it for what it is… just a little fog and nothing more. The boats are really there- I promise.