Courage will see you through!
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Nelson MandelaCivil Rights Leader
I love the word courage. When we get up each and every day, we all do muster up the courage to face another one with all the joy and challenges that it will bring. Having suffered in the recent past from anxiety attacks, I had no idea what great feat that actually was. Having gone through a time myself where fear was the norm, I stand with pride and great respect for others who are challenged on a daily basis. I have a great respect for others who have been knocked down, get up again and never quit. They have tapped into the greatest truth yet, that as long as they are willing to try again, the courage to do so will triumph in the end. They never give up in the face of the greatest pain , and that is the only way that they will ever discover the greatest joy and love that comes from within. Whenever I hear the word courage, I imagine The Wizard of Oz and the challenge that the Cowardly Lion faced when he set off with his three friends to conquer his greatest fear, battling the Wicked Witch. He believed as the rest of them did, that this challenge would result in the Wizard of Oz granting him Courage. What the Cowardly Lion did not understand until the challenge was won is that courage was always there within, and that he had the power to triumph over his fear by reaching within to get past it and ultimately conquer it. I do not see fear as a weakness, I see it as an opportunity. The less power I give my fears by getting up each and every day to face the unknown, the more time I have to enjoy the wonders and beauty of the world. When I give less time to my worries about what might happen in the future, I am empowered to live in the present and enjoy all that it has to offer. I never said that this was easy, but it is necessary. Over and over again, when we decide to face our fears, we become more and more brave in this life. Our bravery will then result in the manifestation of our greatest dreams. Embracing all that is and not holding back because of the fears of the past is the greatest freedom you will ever experience. While fear is a part of life, the power we give to our fears is a choice we can make. Keep those great beacons of courage around you to remind you of this. When we prove to ourselves over and over again that a brave man or woman is not one that does not feel afraid but one that conquers fear, we will have a greater compassion for our fellow travelers, and they for us. We no longer will see it as a weakness, but see it as a learning challenge that makes each of us stronger and stronger. Courage within, once we tap into it, will see us through the good and the bad times. We don’t need a magical Wizard to show us that, the magic has always been within the whole time. Tap in and you will see for yourself.
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