Practicing Courage in this Moment in Time
Right now, I’m working on a project that feels big. I’m not ready to share a lot about it just yet (look for more details in June!), but what I do know is that the work I am called to is going to require a lot of me: an investment of time and energy for sure, but most importantly, this new thing is inviting me to show up in a way that is more consistent, authentic, and dedicated.
Now don’t get me wrong: I love this. When I’m working on creating this new thing, I feel lit up, excited, and delighted.
And yet… I woke up yesterday and today with really big FEAR.
Fear feels horrible. When I'm in fear, it feels like wearing glasses with sickly green lenses or looking into a funhouse mirror. Everything looks bigger, harder, more frightening and overwhelming.
This type of fear doesn’t necessarily signal danger, though! I can see clearly, that this fear shows up when I am called to show up. When I am on the verge of something new, something big, fear rides in and says, now hold on just a moment! Are you sure about this?
When I woke up this morning with fear, I knew that I needed to pay attention. Luckily, I know a person who has a lot of teachings and meditations on courage… and I’m not ashamed to say that when I need a boost, I do sometimes turn to my own video library. Is that weird? Oh well… :) It really helped to spend time in meditation first thing in the morning, and it allowed me to acknowledge and work with fear, as well as to eventually say, “Ok fear, this has been great, but I’ve got work to do!” And then I was able to get down to the day’s business of showing up. Hey, here I am!
This Moment in Time
In this moment, we’re in the middle (?) of Shelter-in-Place, and there is quite a bit of talk and action around “opening things up.” We’ve been in what some folks call “uncertain times” for around 2 months now, depending on where you’re living or when you started to pay attention… and we are continuing with “uncertain times” as things keep changing day by day.
I don’t know how you feel about this, but I had a sense that this might be a good time to share about a special kind of courage…
The Courage to Wait
We're all familiar with the type of courage that's more obvious, assertive and ballsy, aka The Courage to Act. But equally important, and often overlooked, is the Courage to Wait. In a time of waiting, of vulnerability and transition, there are these periods when things feel messy, confusing, and awkward. There is no clear step, no action that can be taken… what is needed is to wait, to live into what is occuring.
Our courage here is in staying present, accompanying ourselves with love, patience, and acceptance. In the video below, I give examples, especially from the wisdom of the natural world, and I talk more about what this quieter type of courage looks like.
Listen in for these keys, with times noted:
Previous videos in this series (What is Courage & Acting with Courage)
The Courage to Wait
3:00 Slow process - messy middle of a long process, between awareness and mastery
5:00 Examples from nature: season cycles, dormant periods, caterpillar to butterfly
What Courage looks like during vulnerable waiting times
10:00 Staying Present, refusal to abandon yourself through distraction, numbing
12:00 Reminding yourself of the larger picture, refusal to stay in worry and fixing mode, cultivating patience
13:15 Reminding yourself of “the mystery” … in a time of waiting, something is going on “underground”… yet to be revealed
15:00 Showing love to yourself, taking care of yourself as you navigate uncertainty and courage
16:00 Poetry inspirations
Sweet Darkness, by David Whyte
Blessing for One Who is Exhausted, by John O’Donohue
Oceans, by Juan Ramon Jimenez
21:00 Meditation (9 minutes)
(Ignore the end part about me going to a retreat… nope, not right now! )
I hope there is some comfort here for you, or a pearl that you can take with you to invite a different type of experiencing of fear and uncertainty. I am wishing you peace, within change, within whatever you are feeling, deeper peace that carries you through.
Want to dive deeper?
This course is just one of the self-access resources in the Flourish & Bloom membership platform, and you can work through each module of teachings, meditations, and reflection prompts at your own pace.