The only reason we ever feel trapped by anxious thoughts and feelings is that we just won’t let go of the false idea that it takes time to know the strength and happiness of our original wholeness. Our unseen belief in this illusion creates the uncertain future to which we feel we must rush. And this same illusion sits behind all of the fears that stalk us as we pursue whatever we hope will complete us. For implied in the idea of always having somewhere to “get to” is the danger that if we don’t hurry up and “get there” we’ll miss out on the ful?llment we’ve imagined awaits us. But here’s the truth that sets us on the road to freedom:

Your original Self is already timeless and whole; any part of us that urges us to look for a bigger, better, or brighter sense of Self outside the present moment is both the seed of deception, as well as its bitter fruit, anxiety.

Anxious thoughts and feelings are not there to help us reach the promised land. Instead, they keep us a prisoner in the world of their empty promises. The courage to see the truth of this fact is the same as the courage we need to be free . . . to consciously walk away from these impostor powers, regardless of how convincing they are that we can’t live without them. After all, who clings to their captors?