Love vs Fear?
Musician Licity Collins on primal energies and self-honesty.
We spoke with musician & spoken word artist Licity Collins about emotions, honest awareness and connected humanity. Image: Licity Collins
“L
ove vs. Fear?
“When you come face to face with love, the most courageous thing you can do is say, “Yes.”— Licity
Great spiritual teachers have often been quoted as saying there are only two forces in the world—fear and love. Is this true? Could it be that simple? And if so, then how do we work with these two forces to make a better world?
Ojai, California community host Licity has some feelings about feelings: “I’ve loved humans for a long time, and over this time I’ve come to believe that there are only two forces at play inside of us—fear and love. People can be so deeply afraid, and we all want to feel love. All of our actions emerge from these two primal energies. But we must let go of any judgment that one emotion is better than the other. There is power in both fear and love. It’s not a matter of wrong or right. It’s a matter of honest awareness. Emotions are our greatest power and the best tool of change we have.”
“There is a power in both fear and love. It’s not a matter of wrong or right. It’s a matter of honest awareness. Emotions are our greatest power and the best tool of change we have.“
Licity has been playing music and singing her entire life, but it wasn’t until later in life that she had learned to play guitar and started writing songs for the public. “When I did, I found I was writing with a deeply personal raw voice that seemed to help people put words to their feelings. I’ve always had a deep passion for emotion. If I had a friend who was upset at school I would pull them into an empty room, sit at their knee, hold their hands and encourage them to cry. When I acknowledge how afraid I am, when I really get that honest with myself—then I can feel compassion for how afraid others are. And when that magical moment happens, we find connection with people we once thought were totally separate from us.”
Photo: Licity Collins
For Licity, love is an essential message in everything she does. Her shows and keynotes are multi-dimensional experiences of the heart. But it’s not easy, she says, “True self-honesty takes a lot of courage. My passion is inspiring that courage in my audiences so we can move towards a more connected humanity.”
You can learn more about how she fires human courage with music and the ground-breaking arts organizations she had helped to found at licitycollins.com.
Photo: Licity Collins
Travel & Stay in Ojai
Ojai is a mecca for artists and musicians and is home to the Classical Music Festival and Playwrights Festival. The cottage is part of a 9 cottage gathering, and this is a cozy 2-bedroom part just outside of Downtown Ojai.
It’s a great place to create, rest, and a great home-base from which you can explore Santa Barbara, Ventura, Ojai, and Los Angeles.
Licity — Musician & spoken word artist
Ojai, California — $50/night
Photo:Daniel Gorostieta
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