Sunday, November 28, 2010

On the subject of courage (#667)

I am no master of courage but I do know what it is like to stand accountable for something while in fear of great bodily harm. That is one kind of courage. Another type of courage I know is telling the truth when the result of the telling is personal shame and embarrassment. Whether mental/emotional courage or physical courage, experiencing the choice to decide is most always tremendous fear. Why does it seem that fear is involved in most every opportunity I have to be courageous? When I look back on the times when I have been courageous, it seems that logically, I should have naturally been courageous. That has not been the case with me. The very few times I have been courageous without fear being involved happened with such rapidity that I did, just naturally or instinctually, display my courage. I would think then that when I have time to consider or feel emotion, I am susceptible to fear and it's cowardly actions. I also can conclude that fear and courage do not go hand in hand. They can be mutually exclusive when there is no time but to act. Just a little about fear here since it is quite prevalent in my ability to be courageous twenty-four-seven. I need some manifestation of fear in my life to protect me against some elements in life that do require me to be cautious. But never to the point of inaction. Only through processing facts and realities. I am coming into a stage in my life where I embrace fear as just another emotion I can use to better others and my own life. Fear can be controlled just as acting courageously can be controlled. More than any action I can reflect back from myself is the courageous action that is filled with the better and best principles humanity has discovered. Being courageous is a quest I wish to never shrink from.

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