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10
April – June 2014
www.deltalivingmagazine.com
By William “Bubba” Paris
www.bubbaparis.org
O
n our journey through life, we will
encounter challenging moments
that will seem as though they are more than
we can face. In those defining moments, you
must be brave enough to fight through. You
must face your fears and trust the pure poten-
tial that lies in you. Every creation was forged
from a place where action over took fear.Your
creation, or purpose, is inside you, begging to
come forward.You can’t allow yourself to be
conditioned, shaped and programmed by fear.
Fear, once developed in your life, will rear its
ugly head every time you face challenging
moments.
We must take control of our life and live it
by design and not by default.When we adjust
our life to accommodate fear, we live it by de-
fault. I once heard someone say “Fear is
F
alse
E
vidence
A
ppearing
R
eal,” a fear-driven life
is not a purpose-driven one. Knowing what
we are capable of, and being brave enough to
face the moment, is crucial to living the life
designed for us by purpose.
When I was about five years old, there were
two older boys who terrorized my life. They
would beat me up and take from me anything
of value that I had in my possession. I was like
a fox in England; where they have fox hunts.
I had to make sure that I stayed hidden or I
would be chased and traumatized.Well on this
day, I was caught in the open and had to run
for dear life. I ran until the front door of my
house was in sight.The safety of home was an
arm’s length away. I grabbed the screen door
and I pulled it open. My father, who watched
the entire event unfold, was in the doorway.
He pulled the door closed and locked it. I
looked at him wondering why he would leave
me in harm’s way. He said, “Junior, either you
face them or you will face me.” I knew how
my father was, so I decided I stood a bet-
ter chance with the two bullies. For the first
time in my young life, I had to face the fear
of the moment, and do something about it.
There were two of them and only one of me.
They were known for being mean and they
preyed on all the kids in the neighborhood.
They were much older and retreating was not
an option.
My heart was racing! I was face to face
with two people that I saw as insurmount-
able forces; forces that I was not capable of
prevailing against. I had always thought it was
easier to run. I even conditioned myself to
take the beatings. I adjusted my life around
their movements. I never even dreamt it was
possible to defend myself. I thought I was too
young and too weak, but I had no choice, I
had to face them.
I focused on the one we all considered the
leader, because he had a reputation for being
the toughest. As I faced him, fear left me and
instinct took over. I learned even though I
was younger than my body looked, my
body was capable of responding. I hit
him and pushed him to the ground.
He was in shock and he abandoned
the fight. The second guy just ran.
At that moment, my life changed.
It was not really a fight, only one
shove. It was not so much the shove
that ended the fight; it was the fact
that I faced them in that challenging
moment, without fear. Facing my fear
impacted my young life; I no longer had
to run home. I knew I could respond
when needed. My father was not
trying to teach me to be a
fighter. He was teach-
ing me to be brave. He
wanted me to face my
fears and trust in my
ability to respond. He
knew every time I
faced my fears, wheth-
er the outcome was the
desired one or not, that
I would win from the
experience of being
fearless. He knew that
I would gain momen-
tum and confidence
and I would be better
equipped as I faced
the unavoidable chal-
lenges of life.
Don’t allow your
destiny to be shaped by a lack of confidence
or fear.When you do, you will lose your true
self, and you are no longer living the life that
is meant for you. Embrace every new chal-
lenging moment and move forward fearlessly.
Knowing that unproductive and unhealthy
fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) will
always present evidence that the moment is
greater than you. The challenges of the mo-
ment are real!What is false is the assertion that
you are not capable of prevailing in the mo-
ment. So face your fears and go forward- you
are more than a conqueror!
Words from Bubba …
Facing Your Fears