(#5942) From fear to courage, it is a process for most of us

      It was for me anyway. Several times in my life I thought I had won the battle of fear only to find out that as time goes on fear comes back. Only when it tries to come back and it isn't allowed do you know that you have overcome it. I am still startled and afraid in some minor areas of my own phobias but not so much in the area of one or more humans attempting to either bully me or force me. I have had that battle with myself and no longer fear the worst consequences of pain or death. I am no more of a human being than any other but in this area of deciding that death is not the line I back down from is a major difference.
     In fairness it helps that I have already lived the better part of my life and that is a fact. Yet if I had to decide back then under the current circumstances I may well have come to this point much earlier. Quality of life is the key here. When just quantity of time is the only reason for living then fear has won over courage. I hadn't been faced with that in the past other than scary moments I allowed myself to participate in. They were just moments not a cumulative effect like the era we are in. Our democracy allowed us to be ourselves for the most part and now we are being shaped into images that are not our choices. That is unacceptable when coming from other human beings who should know better but don't.
     Eventually we all will have our line in the sand moment where the final battle for courage against fear is fought. Make yours count as a final battle and not just a stay for the moment. There is nothing like the feeling of courage when it conquers. The feeling cannot be taught in some book or by passing down memories that aren't experienced by the listener. We each have a final battle we must either fight or shy away from into a lesser way of living. I will never choose to live lesser and will always fight. Courage to fight is the battle waged and if we succeed then our destiny as an individual human being is justified on a greater plane than just existing at the by your leave of others.