Releasing Fear and Embracing Growth

This weekend, I had an unexpected encounter with a tiny visitor in my apartment—a mouse. In the seven years I’ve lived here, I’ve never experienced this before, but with all the construction nearby, I guess it was bound to happen.

What caught me by surprise, though, wasn’t the mouse itself but my own reaction to it. As soon as I realized it was stuck in a glue trap, completely unable to move, I felt an overwhelming sense of fear. This mouse wasn’t a threat, yet I couldn’t even get close enough to place a bucket over it without becoming paralyzed by my deep-seated fear. I had to sit down at my dining table, pour myself a drink, and anchor myself before I could act.

As I sat there, trying to rationalize my fear, I realized just how much of it was in my head. The mouse wasn’t going anywhere, but my mind was racing, creating stories of potential harm. It wasn’t until I allowed myself to move beyond that mind-driven fear and tap into a state of "no mind" that I could pick up the bucket, place it over the mouse, and remain calm. The mouse was still, and so was I.

This experience was more than just a confrontation with a mouse—it was a confrontation with myself. Why now? Why this seemingly insignificant event during a time when I feel like I’m stepping into the highest version of myself? I couldn’t help but reflect that perhaps this was an opportunity to push my boundaries, to face something that felt life-threatening, even though it wasn’t, and to see how fear can hold me back from stepping into new growth.

In the end, it was all in my head. But once I let go of the fear and let it pass through me, I realized that I could handle the situation. And in doing so, I saw a part of myself that is still stuck—like the mouse in the glue—that no longer serves me.

This moment was a small but potent reminder that growth often comes when we are willing to face what scares us. Fear might stop us in our tracks, but when we release it, we open ourselves up to new possibilities and new versions of who we are meant to be.

After the incident, a friend sent me a quote from Frank Herbert’s Dune that helped me reflect on what I’d experienced:

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

As the mouse was freed, a part of myself was freed too.