Wednesday, September 15, 2021
To be courageous, one must assume a tremendous amount of risk. If you try to mitigate all the risk in your life, you’re playing it safe. We want confirmation and assurance, a sign that it will all work out. But what kind of courage is there in “knowing” the outcome? True courage takes the faith and strength to be vulnerable. It requires putting yourself in the face of risk and exposing yourself to the elements of possibility. It requires you to take on the attitude of being comported, even when things seem grim. It requires you to remain steadfastly assured in the greater scheme, even when the storm is a-brewin’.
Courage is a posture of openness, exactly like vulnerability. Defensiveness is a posture of being closed, shielded in fear, laden with mental compulsiveness, impatient hastiness, or resistant hesitation. When you finally give in and learn to trust in the overall flow, you can really reap the benefits of courage. You can cash in on your “gamble,” knowing that the ultimate prize is always for your greatest good, even when it looks like it might not be. Even if your outcome is totally different than what you expect, it’s always for your benefit.
Life sometimes pushes you to the edge of your darkest moments, but just beyond that edge is what you’re actually seeking – clarity, peace, meaning, and understanding. Despair is not to be feared, nor is emotional pain. Courage is an openness that sees the wisdom of experience, the strength of humility, and the ephemeral nature of pain. Trust that life is working for you, and rest assured that it’s going where it needs to go, even if you don’t particularly like it. Eventually you’ll see, but be open to what’s in store – it’s probably better than you could have imagined. This kind of courage will help you transcend emotional and mental clutter. This kind of vulnerable, yet peaceful courage is what surpasses all understanding. Let real courage be your priority today – the courage to be at peace with what is!