According to the book, A Course in Miracles, there are two basic emotions: Love and Fear. Just as light and darkness are opposites and cannot exist simultaneously, love and fear work the same way. When you shine a light into a room, the darkness is removed. Similarly, when you focus your thoughts on gratitude and love, worry and fears dissolve. I recently had the opportunity to practice turning my fear into love and gratitude. When I chose to do so, my worries vanished and I was overcome with peace.
My daughter broke her arm a few weeks ago and had to have a procedure done with anesthesia for the first time. As a little bit of background, this same daughter became very sick due to a reaction to a vaccine when she was 20 months old. Since then, I have been fearful of vaccines, medicines, and putting anything unnatural into our bodies unless it is absolutely necessary. Needless to say, I had a very difficult time dealing with her having anesthesia, and it caused me much anxiety and worry.
As I sat in the waiting room while she was having the procedure done to fix her arm, the fears came rushing to me. I kept thinking, “What if she doesn’t wake up?” Finally, after worrying myself for several minutes, I decided to pick up the book I was reading at the time, There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Wayne Dyer. I was hoping that would help me to take my mind off of my worries. I read for a few minutes, and then I decided to put the book down and practice something Wayne Dyer had talked about earlier in the book. I made the decision to stop worrying and to turn my fears into love.
In that moment, I closed my eyes and sent love to everyone in the operating room with my daughter, and I gave thanks for all of them. I envisioned the room filled with a white light, and I sent love and positive thoughts to everyone involved. Then, I gave thanks for the one thing that was causing me the most anxiety — the anesthesia. I thanked it for helping this to be a positive experience for my daughter, and I tried to focus on all the good things about the anesthesia. Because of it, she would have no pain during the procedure. She would also have no memory of it, so it would not be a traumatic experience for her, and it would not cause her to develop new fears that she would have to live with for the rest of her life. When she woke up, her arm would be back together in a cast and on its way to healing properly. There were plenty of good things that anesthesia accomplished, and there was plenty to be grateful for. Choosing to focus on these things and turn my fearful thoughts into those of love and gratitude helped me to calm down immediately.
Within moments, the doctor emerged and he let me know that everything had gone smoothly and my daughter had done great. I was taken to the recovery room to wait for her to wake up. When she opened her eyes, I was right there by her side. The first words that came out of her mouth were, “I’m bored!” Right then, I could tell that she was her usual self, and it gave me a great sense of relief. For the rest of the time we were there, everyone was fantastic with her. The nurses were all so attentive, and I could feel the love that I had sent out being returned to us. My daughter is now healing wonderfully in her cast and has not experienced one bit of pain since the procedure.
I am so grateful I decided to take the opportunity to practice turning my fear of the anesthesia into love and gratitude. It changed everything. I saved myself many moments of unnecessary worry when I took the opportunity to look for the good in the anesthesia and give thanks for it. This story is just another reminder that every experience and everything in life can be a gift if you look for the good and focus on that!
This practice can be done in any situation.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Have you ever practiced turning your fears into love? If so, I would love if you would share your story in the comments below!
