Courage – what does it look like?…

Curious Cassowary~~ Courage means knowing when to be still & humble to understand what is needed ~~

I was asked this question recently and as we are coming to the end of another year, I thought it was fitting to explore this a little deeper – as for many, it takes a lot of Courage to face a new year… For me, Courage means many things. Firstly, Courage does not mean that I am not afraid, it simply means that I do whatever I must do regardless of experiencing fear. It’s therefore important to understand that fear is our body’s way to signal impending danger, trouble, etc – whether real or imagined. It’s equally important to use our intellect to discern what is real and what is imagined, this enables us to let go of many irrational fears that are simply ‘paper tigers’. Paper tigers often stop us from moving forward in life – unnecessarily! Colin and I sat down to plan the next part of our journey…  Since we are leaving Leura (nsw) on the 2nd of January, we thought it time to work out our next steps. We both enjoy continually bringing change into our life, so we decided to head West. Our last adventure crossing the Nullabor in 2004 however, gave us a frightening experience and though we are enthusiastic to journey into WA again, I felt the fear rising as I thought about our last adventure… A car chased us in the night for quite a distance – and we were very low on fuel – they backed away only when we happily reached a petrol station (we found out later that some locals enjoy scaring travellers). I realised that the current fear (though based on past events) is irrational because it’s not happening now. So I worked on letting it all go and leave it behind – today is a new day and a new chapter. If we allow past negative situations to hold us back, we would never leave our comfort zones. Instead, we must learn from and build on the past in order to have better a understanding and create more positive experiences. I need to prepare practically and train my mind mentally. Courage is one of many virtues that will make this into a pleasant journey, rather then enter the next phase with trepidation. You know, we have been on the road for 3 years now and people often say “Wow how exciting to travel”. And yes we love it, but it’s not always as ‘romantic’ as people think. It takes lots of effort, planning, preparation, communication, love, faith, foresight, self respect, respect for others and for nature, determination, resilience and ultimately flexibility, simplicity and lots and lots of courage. Many are starry-eyed when imagining life on the road and yes it can be wonderful, but they often gloss over many practical facts. For instance, while we love offering many FREE empowerment programs on our travels, this of course costs money. We are completely self-sustaining, so we live on a shoe-string budget and find paid work along the way – not as easy or as glamorous as many think. Then of course you have occasions like our Nullabor example – but we love it all the same 🙂 Courage is one of our most important virtues (innate qualities), because without Courage it proves difficult to apply our other virtues into our daily living… It takes Courage to consistently stand in our self respect, to face our enemies and even more so, to face our friends. Courage is knowing when to step up, when to step back and when to be still and silent, so I can truly listen. Courage means to understand that I may not necessarily succeed, but to start the journey anyway. Courage means that no matter which path I choose, I accept and take full responsibility for this path. It means to simply keep going regardless of the judgments of others, or the obstacles that tempt me into believing that others are right. Courage allows me to dream big and to bring my dreams into reality. Courage means to be a master of my life, never to be a victim… Courage allows me to love and to simply have a go in life again… and again… and again… Question: Do you let fear stop you from doing what you really want to do, or do you use courage to knock down any paper tigers? Consideration: Where might you allow paper tigers to frighten you into submission Action: Step back from any ‘fearful’ situation to discern if the fear is a genuine warning to get out of harms way (based on fact) or if it is irrational (based on emotion). Stepping back for just a minute allows me to observe my inner and outer environment to see what’s really going on. If it is fact, then please keep yourself safe and step out of the way of oncoming ‘traffic’. If it is emotion, then take a deep breath and gently but consistently work your way through it, one baby step at a time. No matter how many times you fall, like a baby, simply get up again… and again… and again… It’s your Right 🙂 Lots of love Annemarie

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