If I held out my hands, one full of fear and the other full of love, which offer would you choose?

Of course you would. So would I.

We'd choose love. Every time.

Yet as we walk through our lives we fill our pockets each day not with an abundance of love but with a surplus of fear.

We pick it up wherever we go.

And the weight of it holds us firmly down.

Fear is our mantra.

We find it through news and social media. We pick it up from friends, family, and strangers. We create it in the darkest corners of our minds.

And we share it freely with those we love.

Because the world is a dangerous place, we remind ourselves.

There are no guarantees.

So we gather fear to our chests with both arms.

Fear for ourselves, our children, our world.

Fears about health, education, and money.

Fears about our future and failure and judgement.

And fear rules us with its constant noise in our heads.

It guides our choices around parenting, education, and health.

About money, work, and love.

We fill our larder with fear as our hopes and passions starve.

If I held out my hands, one full of fear and the other full of love, which offer would you choose?

What would life look like if you could break the rules that fear has made?

What dream would you follow if you weren't afraid of failure or judgement?

What magic would unfold if you acted from "I wish" instead of from "I fear"?

How light would you become if you emptied your pockets of this burden that is holding you down?

And how would it feel – how would it really and truly feel – to hear your inner voice again, no longer drowned out by the shouting voice of fear?

If I held out my hands, one full of fear and the other full of love, which offer would you choose?

Of course you would. And so would I.

So let's.

Let's choose love.

Every time.

Starting now.

Originally published in 2015.