“We can be present for this life with a tenderness and a love and a fearlessness that includes fear.” — Jack Kornfield

Dear friend,

Even after years of spiritual practice, fear can take us by surprise. Years ago, I received a frightening medical diagnosis. They told me my body was going to deteriorate, and I thought, “Okay, I think I’m okay with death.” In my days as a monk, I’d sat in the charnel grounds doing Buddhist death meditations, and in recent years, I’d worked in hospice with people who were dying.

But then the doctor said, “Oh, and dementia comes with it.” I did not like that. That was not in my program. I got really afraid, much more than I expected. Fortunately, a couple of weeks later, it turned out they had the wrong diagnosis, but the fear still proved an important spiritual lesson.

I remember going to Ram Dass and telling him the story. He listened, smiled, and said, “Oh yeah, I flunked the course a number of times myself.” It was so comforting, because the idea isn’t to be some way, with or without fear. It’s to be human and love it all, including the contraction as well as the expansion. Who we are is bigger than all of that.

In this video conversation with Tami Simon, we explore what it means to trust our own hearts. When fear comes, we can recognize it and thank it for trying to take care of us. As Thich Nhat Hanh would say, invite it for tea. We can be present for this life with tenderness and love, with a fearlessness that includes fear.

With metta,
Jack