You’re Allowed To Be Afraid
By Rania Naim
You’re allowed to be afraid. We’ve been glorifying being fearless and taking risks that we’ve forgotten that, at the end of the day, we’re fragile human beings who don’t always have the answers or the resources needed to move forward or excel in all our endeavors.
You’re allowed to be confused. You’re allowed to be tired of all the people who keep telling you to stop worrying and start living, to practice positivity and the law of attraction, you’re tired of people underestimating what you’re going through and scorning your current mental state because they’re simply not in the same boat.
You’re allowed to be afraid of the future and wonder if it has more unpleasant surprises in store for you. You’re allowed to worry about where you’re going to be in a few years and whether you’re prepared to face any more storms or not.
You’re allowed to be afraid of goodbyes, of new beginnings, of change and transitions. You’re allowed to not know where you belong, where home is or if you’ll ever find it.
You’re allowed to let yourself feel these heavy emotions, you’re allowed to cry and release them. You’re allowed to be scarred and bruised from previous relationships and previous heartbreaks and wonder if you’ll ever find your person.
You’re allowed to be afraid of being alone. You’re allowed to be afraid of losing people and you’re allowed to be honest with yourself even if the truth is dark and murky.
You’re allowed to stop pretending that you’re happy and cheerful all the time and you’re allowed to admit that you’re not okay. You’re allowed to stop acting strong because you’re only fooling yourself when you say you can’t be broken.
You’re allowed to be afraid and show it. You don’t have to be fearless all the time. You don’t have to be positive all the time.
You’re allowed to be afraid because it’s only after fear that you find courage and it’s only after the darkness that you find the light.
So be afraid until you realize that none of your fears were as terrifying as you thought and that you’re capable of rising, even from the deepest falls.