“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” —- Anais Nin
With the above quote the quick response might be, easy to say hard to do . . . and for a great many people it would be correct. The next question that might follow is simply . . . why? For all of us without few exceptions, fear is an inevitable part of our existence. This has been the result of billions of years of conditioning built into our basic responses, actions, perceptions and perspectives. It might even be called a learned response, from the time we became aware of our own existence. We had family, friends, or loved ones who were consistently warning us, not to touch because it was hot, look both ways before crossing busy streets, stranger danger and a host of other statements we learned almost imperceptibly. Simply put, it was a slow conditioning to fear relating to what would hurt or harm us. There wasn’t any malice of intent by those who cared about our well being. It was all in the name of keeping us safe. However, the interpretation of fear for each of us, manifested in different ways. This is not unusual as this life’s journey continues for all of us. Becoming conscious of how things are affecting us at any given time, is tantamount to understanding who we are. Taking it one step further Friedrich Nietzsche suggests this . . . “One must have chaos within oneself in order to give birth to a dancing star.”
Courage comes from working through the chaos with mindfulness, present awareness and intentional consciousness. Of course, our defense mechanisms have been well honed since childhood . . . granted. This doesn’t mean that you’re not responsible for facing that which causes you fear, pain, or hurt. It would be easier, of course, unfortunately what follows is our powerlessness to change our experience in order to release that dancing star within that Nietzsche quoted. We all get there at different times, and sadly . . . some of us won’t get there this time around. We can reflect on the words of James Hollis, “At this late date, it is your defenses, not your wound, that cause the problem and arrest your journey.” Also it may be observed, many individuals wish to remain victims of there imposed intent. It takes a great deal of willful introspection, to recognize and differentiate our essence at the very core of our being. Once we push through our fear of knowing who we are without exception, these words of Carolyn Hax reflect awareness . . . “Being negative is easy — The real courage is in finding the good in what you have, the opportunities in every hurdle, the pros in every con.” Step through that wall of your fear, acknowledge your intent to change, experience the freedom you have released within your essence, and resonate with the consciousness of well being for as Carlos Casteneda simply states . . . “We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” Courage allows you to step into the light . . . releasing that dancing star! JLR