by Leigh-Ann Larson, M.Ed., LMHC:  Founder, Elevate Counseling Services

 

“Abide in Love and Abound in Life”. To abide means to “stick with it” and to “not stray from”. Abiding offers a direction, a purpose or target to aim at. Suggesting that we abide in love presumes that there is another option, another choice to make. As I’ve experienced it: the choice we are give to make is: do we live from love or do we live from a place of  Fear.

My favorite acrostic for FEAR is “False, Emotions (or Evidence) Appearing Real. There are times when emotions will overwhelm our ability to think things through, it is at these times when Fear takes over.  When this happens, however, it is possible to open our eyes and find that we are standing is an abyss of chaos, anger, depression or anxiety that is largely self-imposed. In those times, it is important to make a conscious choice to step out of that space and to get on with the task of enjoying life. (by choosing to be IN JOY).

If we can focus on staying in Love and out of Fear, we are less likely to fall into the abyss.  In order to do this, we must take action and making choices for joy. A new acrostic for life may look like this: “Laughter Influences Fear Eternally”. A jovial laugh can ring through the mire of everything other than love and send you right back into the place where life abounds: Joy. When we find ourselves in fear, we have a choice to stay there or to change the static of fear to the clear ringing tones of love – via laughter. Grab a friend, a comedian, a you-tube video…anything that can bring you into laughter and get on with the joy of living!

 

  • Do you love to laugh?
  • What makes you laugh?
  • Who brings laughter into your life? (Who is the life of your party?)
  • What are you in fear of right now? (what false emotions are pushing you around?)
  • How can you bring laughter with you, into those fear-filled moments?
  • What prevents you from laughing? What steps can you take right now toward laughter?

 

Affirmation: I choose to live in joy, I choose to live in laughter. I choose to live  in love.