Bravery

Courage is resistance to fear. Not the absence of fear

Walking a connected path means that we must break the chains that hold us back from the Divine. One of the most powerful is fear and its counter, bravery.

The dictionary tells us it is "courageous behaviour or character." but this tells us nothing. A better definition is "Taking the harder path for the greater good when an easier way exists.". When we face fear it is an empty gesture without a reason to do so, the primal fear sought by dangerous sports and roller coasters may stimulate our body but it has little effect on our spirit.

This modern world may be lacking in dragons and heroic dangers but we still have a fast world of fears that it seems we choose to ignore.

Real bravery is taking the hard path for the right reasons as second nature, no flattering of the ego or bolstering of our self-esteem but simply doing what must be done. Examine our modern fears. The list is long, job security, relationships, health, public speaking, ridicule, bills, home. It is not surprising we tend to live our lives in a blinkered trap. Looking beyond the cage we see only the fears and doubts, and not the potential world that lies beyond.

We are born with only two fears, loud noises and falling, every other fear is learned and like any learned behaviour or habit can be unlearned. Some though may be harder than others. Considering our fears with an honest heart we must see that they fall into fear of the unknown, those born of experiences such as heights or the dark, fear of others their threat or opinion, and fear of ourselves. Just as fear is a construct of the mind so is the mind where we find the bravery to overcome our fears with meditation, honesty, acceptance, and faith.

The unknown should not scare us as we do not know the outcome and yet we find our thoughts often fall prey to our imagination. We foresee disaster at every turn and may often make our fears reality, subconsciously falling victim to the self-fulfilling prophecy. We have brains, it is important that we use them. When faced with the unknown we can and should do everything we can and only then let go and let the future unfold. Still our unquiet mind and let acceptance guide us.

Fears from experience might also be called ghosts from our past. Remember memories and history are the user guide of our lives, not to relive emotionally but rather a collection of experiences both good and bad. Choosing to recreate or even relive bad ones is a fool's errand. Conditional behaviour therapy can allay some of these fears and even end them. Meditative examination of these fears can also weaken or dismiss them, mentally journeying down each fears path will lead us inevitably to the unknown.

The power we feel other people have over us can cause some of our greatest terrors. From bullying on a physical, mental or emotional level to fear of being hated, despised, or ignored, others may seem to be responsible for a lot of our fears. The connected journey requires a degree of absolute honesty and with it acceptance that we are only responsible for ourselves. We must accept that just as we walk our journey, everyone else is walking their own. Fear of others is offered countered by fear of the unknown and even when we confront the unknown as mentioned we must face the fear of others. The answer lies in bravery and faith, sometimes we must take the power of fear and turn it into pure faith, the Divine Will.

We may find our courage to face new horizons, snakes and spiders, and the disdain of others but the truest test of bravery is facing the fear of ourselves. We may be frightened of our actions or decisions but more likely about who we are, do we delude ourselves we are some kind of super-hero when we are just another human on this rock? Bravery comes hand in hand with self-realization, yes we aren't Superman but we can be an awesome human being, yes we are another person on this Earth but not 'just a person', we are a unique individual with the opportunity to find happiness and spread it to everyone in our daily lives.

Our past is just a user-guide to good and bad decisions, not worthy of our emotions or fears. Tomorrow is the uncharted journey, take big steps with an open mind, and enjoy the gift. Today is the greatest gift, if you seek serenity you must first find acceptance, accept what is, change what you can, and allow what you can't alter to exists without your fears or concerns. Finally, make sure your life is filled with living your life and not other peoples, and ensure you are not allowing others to live your life for you.