Brother Richard

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

These are words that are spoken often in Scripture, so often in fact that it is often said that there are enough of them to cover every day of the year.

But for now, we are simply in this moment, hearing the comfort of this phrase,

be not afraid be not afraid allowing the warmth of the phrase to be with us allowing its gentle support its encouragement to courage its invitation to trust

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

And when we speak of the word afraid, we can almost immediately at times touch the experience of fear, touch the experience of anxiety or dread,

And yet the meditator holds them lightly, knowing them as reactions.

Sometimes truthful reactions.

Sometimes reactions that come simply from anxiety or vigilance.

Sometimes there is a genuine need for fear in order to protect ourselves.

And sometimes there isn't.

But no matter what happens in our life, in our existence, we recognize within this tradition that the ground of everything is love, unconditional, eternal, and infinite.

And so trusting in that love, we can hear it say to us,

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

In the very essence of our being