COURAGE

"Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace." - Amelia Earhart

Courage is finding the inner strength and bravery required when confronting danger, difficulty or opposition. Courage is the energy current behind all great actions and the spark that ignites the initial baby steps of growth. It resides deep within each of us, ready to be accessed in those moments when you need to forge ahead or break through seemingly insurmountable barriers. It is the intangible force that propels you forward on your journey.

It takes courage to embrace the idea that what you make of your life is up to you and to actually do what you need to do. You can learn how to access your courage by digging down deep inside and tapping into whatever spiritual connection sustains you. What inspires you to action? For some it is a belief in a higher power, for some it can be a meditation or inspiring music, and for others perhaps great literature or spiritual passages. Regardless of what your connection is to the divine source, cultivate it well, for you will need to call upon it in those moments when you require courage.

There are, of course, those times when you may be unable to locate that reservoir of courage stored inside you. That is when you will need to draw on the support of loved ones around you. You can borrow the courage you need from other people who believe in you strongly to get you through the phases of temporary amnesia when you forget your own abilities and tenacity.

Courage is learned in the moment that you take a leap of faith and take action. I remember learning to dive as a child. For weeks, I stood at the tip of the diving board at our local pool, trying to work up the courage to plunge headfirst into the water below. My father stood at the bottom of the ladder three Saturdays in a row, offering encouragement. He demonstrated over and over how to do it, but I still felt afraid. The fear was nameless, since I was pretty sure I would not injure myself, and failure wasn't really a concern. I suppose I was simply afraid in the way that humans often are when they stand poised ot jump, metaphorically or literally, into the unknown.

Finally, the day came when I realized that i could psych myself up all I wanted, and receive endless support from my father, but ultimately I would have to take a deep breath and just go. I climbed the ladder one more time, stood at the now-familiar edge of that board, said a little prayer and dive. It was not a perfect dive, but it was a dive nonetheless. No blaring trumpets heralded the glory of my accomplishment, but it was in that moment that I learned the valuable lesson of courage that would remain with me the rest of my life.

What fears stand in your way? Bring them to light so you can loosen their hold over you.Fears,real or imagine, only impede you. Banish them so that you may learn the lesson of courage and create the life you desire.