I was rereading a page from my journal, written last March after a meditation session. I had written this:

The bar of soap might feel anxious when it sees dirty hands approaching, and be afraid of getting splattered with mud… But it cleans, and doesn’t let the dirt stick to it. It keeps doing its job of cleaning.

I don’t know about you, but I often use images like this to make sense of concepts I sometimes struggle with. And this one made me laugh! It’s as if a simple little bar of hand soap had feelings and would want to run away when it saw hands covered in dirt coming toward it!

But behind the laughter, there was something more serious: it made me realize that, more often than not, there’s no point in being afraid. I can do what I have to do—complete a mission, take an action, take a step—without fearing that I’ll come out of it “tainted.”

What if it were the same for me?

Every time I speak in front of a group, that little fear comes back: the fear of being judged, misunderstood, ridiculed, or not taken seriously. Laughing on purpose in front of strangers is already a step outside my comfort zone—even after all these years. It doesn’t last long, but it’s always there just a little bit.

Last spring, I presented a program to a group of professors at the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University. At the start of my presentation, I was very nervous. I was intimidated by the audience, and I was afraid of saying the wrong things, making mistakes, or not being taken seriously in front of such a knowledgeable group.

I actually get that feeling quite often. But every time, it goes away as soon as I start talking and explaining—because I’m deeply convinced of the benefits of what I have to offer. Like soap, I do the job, and I come out of it unscathed, maybe even with a little more conviction than before. And as a bonus, I’ve managed to “clean their hands”: to help those present laugh, to release a layer of stress that had built up in their bodies, and to leave feeling a little lighter than when they arrived.

Just like soap on our dirty hands!

Soap doesn’t wonder if it will be able to clean. It doesn’t calculate the risk of getting splashed. It just does what it’s supposed to do—plain and simple—and comes out just as clean as before.

What if I, too, could act with that same simplicity? Without fear of judgment, failure, or the discomfort of change?

What about you?

Do you ever feel afraid to step outside your comfort zone, too?

Maybe it’s the fear of being judged. Maybe it’s the fear of failure. Or maybe it’s simply the fear of “tarnishing” the neat little image you have of yourself—the one that hasn’t tried yet, hasn’t failed yet, hasn’t been shaken up yet.

But just like soap, you can get the job done without letting the dirt stick to you. You can speak up, give it a try, break out of your routine—and come out of it unscathed, maybe even a little cleaner than before, free of a fear that served no purpose.

And to me, that’s freedom! Breaking free from our shackles makes us feel light! Laughing on purpose gives me that feeling every time—as if, for a moment, I were setting down everything I don’t need to carry.

I’m giving you a little assignment

Your mission—if you choose to accept it, of course—is to identify one thing you avoid out of fear—a fear that, deep down, doesn’t really protect you from anything.

And do it anyway! Not to prove anything, but just to experience that sense of lightness. Remember that you can clean without getting dirty!

Big, affectionate kisses

Linda