Courage

According to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/courage courage is, "The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery."

Courageous living is becoming a rarity. We live in a world where we are conditioned to reach for quick fixes, take shortcuts and avoid pain at all costs. We fight from behind computer screens and other social media avenues - okay with our voices being heard and not our faces being seen. You cannot live this way without personal impact. Thinking systems are activated and patterns become entrenched in us when we live lives that lack courage. Lacking courage to address things outside ourselves is only an indicator that we lack courage to address things within ourselves. We are critical of our world and others because we are first critical of ourselves. We express hate and disdain for others because of our own self hate. It takes courage to face these dark places within ourselves instead cowardly projecting our "darkness" on others, especially if we want a different life than the one we have known. 

"Limiting beliefs, false assumptions, and emotional baggage which keeps us small has been conveniently hidden within a deep, dark place within us. We don't even know that it is down there, running our lives and sabotaging our dreams. We believe that we are ideal in many ways. We buy our own propaganda so that we don't have to face our weaknesses and do the work involved to turn them into strengths. It takes tremendous internal strength to go into that darkness that keeps us small in our lives. It takes great inner power to take a serious look at the way we are living and make the mid course corrections that will set us back on track." Robin Sharma

I recently read an article on "Snowplow Parents" who go ahead of their children and circumvent any hardship. The sad truth is that these children are placed at a serious deficit. They do not learn how to overcome adversity, be courageous and become resilient. In these types of realities the ability to live courageously is shut down and cowardice, apathy and the lack of common sense become the realities by which individuals then live their lives. This article gives some insight to why we as families and communities lack the courage to live our lives intentionally and in a meaningful way. We can curb this tide and change our legacies.

You may not have experienced a life where courage was modeled to you. You may not have had "Snowplow" parents, maybe abusive ones or parents who taught you how to cope by escaping into addictions or other ways of living that lacked courage. Your resilience may have been stunted and cowardice has been your normal. The exciting truth is that change is possible. You can cultivate courage and resilience. Work on challenging your fear and discomfort thresholds. Take a risk - do what you have always longed to do. First, work on loving yourself. Take steps to address those things about yourself that you dislike. Go with courage to those "dark" places within yourself so that you can courageously face the challenges outside of yourself. This way you can be kind to that co-worker that others are mean to and embracing of the outcasts at your schools and a speaker of truth against injustice and a bridge in broken relationships. Live courageously today and tomorrow you will find that you are braver, bolder and more resilient. 

Reference

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/snowplow-parents-may-be-trapping-their-children/2013/12/20/4eceb40c-6749-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html