Sheryl Paul, or as I sometimes refer to her, “the relationship anxiety lady”, has been an enormous comfort and inspiration to me as I’ve navigated the waters of dating and relationship over the past few years.
In just a couple of weeks, her new book will be out, and I’m sure it’s a good one. It’s called The Wisdom of Anxiety: How Worry and Intrusive Thoughts Are Gifts to Help You Heal.
Indeed they are. It was only by turning towards my anxiety, worry and fear that I understood the projections of my own mind, and how when I was anxious about my relationship, my choice of partner, I was simply protecting myself from the true vulnerability of life. The not knowing. The free fall that it is to be human.
Sheryl has taught me so much about what it means to be open-hearted and to live and love fully and freely. The freedom is found in moving through anxiety, not in running from it. You can run all you want, but you can never hide from yourself. Yet that’s the tendency we all have when facing an inner challenge. We want to escape into projection. It’s not us, it’s them. It’s not me, it’s the world out there.
No. We have to take back the projections, as Sheryl so often says, and turn towards our own brokenness, our own inner child screaming out to be loved and nourished and guided by the voice of our inner parent. The wisdom is already in us. Sheryl’s work helps us turn towards that wisdom, and use it to face our fears.
Sheryl has my highest recommendation, and if you read the beautiful piece she wrote about the writing of this book, I think you’ll see why. She’s a beautiful soul. If you or someone you love struggles with anxiety, get this book.