Ripples #1098: Doorways to Courage
June 8, 2020
PEBBLE
It’s okay to be scared. Being scared means you are about to do something really, really brave.
-Mandy Hale, shared by Rachel in Milwaukee, WI
BOULDER
I’ve found that the changes I feared would ruin me have always become doorways, and on the other side I have found a more courageous and graceful self.
-Elizabeth Lesser, shared by Pat in Omaha, NE
PONDER
It seems clear to me that the times we currently live in call for tremendous courage. More human beings have been pulled farther out of their comfort zones for a longer period of time than any time in recent history. It is hard, and it is scary.
Several thousand Ripplers have already downloaded the (free!) digital book on hope we released last week (Ripples of Hope: Wisdom for Navigating Uncertainty is still available here and here, waiting for you whenever you’re in need of a sustainable boost). In Chapter 9, courage is included as one of the “6 Cs of Cultivating Hope:”
“Fear may be what we feel, but courage is what we can do. We can cultivate our capacity to move forward despite being afraid. When we’re knee-deep in fear is when we need skills to be able to push forward. Being brave, being courageous, is seeing, smelling and tasting the fear, and still standing firm in our resolve to keep moving forward.”
-Ripples of Hope, p. 181
I’m increasingly optimistic that we’ve (finally) arrived at a precipice of profound cultural transformation, one that is long overdue and yet wasn’t possible until enough of us were prepared to do our own work while inspiring others to do theirs. Walking through this doorway of change does not require us to abandon or completely eliminate fear. Instead, we need to acknowledge, respect, befriend, and learn from fear. Consciously choosing our relationship to fear ultimately determines whether it fuels or flattens our courage. Choose wisely.
Peace,
Paul
