letting go of fear

Today I watched this bird chasing after a bug.  The bug was quite large, but not really too big for the bird to eat.  The bug would crawl away and the bird would follow it, take a tentative peck at it and the bug would move on.   This pattern played out for several minutes.  The bug moving, the bird pecking at it, but not really going for it and both moving on.  Suddenly a larger bird came right up to the bug and swallowed it whole in one dramatic bite.  This little scenario reminds me of times when I've been timid or unsure of going after what I really want, and in the end losing it.  Maybe not to someone else, but just letting it get out of reach.  How many times do we hesitate to go after our dreams and aspirations because of fear, self-doubt or opinions of others?  Like that little bird unsure of itself, not knowing it could easily have taken the "big bite."   Today's challenge is to face the fear and do it anyway.