The Call to Courage

 

What is the meaning of courage? I have pondered this question for many years. Given our current world situation and the challenges that we are all facing, the question of courage and what it means to be called to courage is an important one to answer.

The dictionary defines courage as a state of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear, bravery. Courage can also mean allowing your heart to connect with your power center since the root of courage is Coeur the French for the heart.

But it wasn’t until I listened to Breene Brown speak about courage that I began to really understand it. She quoted a speech by Teddy Roosevelt that was very powerful and summed up what it means to live bravely.

(I corrected the gender pronouns to reflect his and her only since this was written in 1910)

"It is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong woman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends herself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if she fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

After listening to her I felt that the time had come for me to be brave and courageous in my own life and to “dare greatly”. That playing small and keeping myself safe was no longer an option. What I have to say and offer to the world is needed now more than ever even if I don’t always know what that is.

What you have to say and offer now is needed more than ever. You may not even know what those things are, and they may be something entirely different from what you have already been doing. When you stand with heartfelt vulnerability for your convictions then you are choosing to be brave and to dare greatly. You are willing to live fully in the arena, taking chances, facing failure and choosing to be brave.

Choosing to be brave is not something that you just do once and forget about it. It is something that you choose to do daily. I love the statement Brenee Brown uses which is, “Today I will choose courage over comfort.”

Being vulnerable is also another way of measuring how courageous you are in any given moment. Are you willing to show up authentically and to speak from your heart to your family, friends, partners, or colleagues?

The call to courage is something I feel each of us is going to be called to face even more during the coming years. As the old world continues to fall apart and we begin to step more fully into our power we will need all the courage we can muster.

Individually, you may be asked to say no to mandates and other forms of authority that you disagree with. Will you have the courage to do so? Will you be brave enough to put yourself out there and stand up for what you know is right for you?

I truly hope that you will answer this call to live your life more daringly and to answer the call to courage when you hear it with a resounding YES.