-COURAGE-
Aristotle said that “courage is the first of human qualities.”
Courage is the sharp edge of conscious choosing,
and the willingness to start again,
to risk failing and to be criticized for the choices we make,
while not allowing such criticism
to discourage our perseverance
to continue to act upon what we believe.
At the end of the day, it is the measurement
of what it means to take initiative
and ultimately being “response-able”
for the outcomes of our choices.
It is the gift and burden of true independence.
It does not guarantee perfect results,
but sharpens the stone of our will,
and the fine-tuning of our vision,
as well as the actions required for self-realization.
Our greatest nemesis to being
courageous is fear.
Courage increases every time
I move through the fire of my fears.
Such fire becomes a smoke screen
that I can courageously step through,
discovering a world far beyond
all those limitations and obstacles
I thought were blocking my way.
I feel most alive from every act of courage.
Life is not the sum total of my past experiences,
but the vista of what I have yet to discover.
Being “safe” binds me to mediocrity
and the stale taste of dull repetition.
Can I awaken every morning
to the exciting brave new world
each day offers me to grab hold of?
Courage shows up in my search for
what is possible by letting go of control,
like a bird’s first leap
where the security of the branch
is left behind for the risk and adventure of flight.
As I get older I can’t help but reflect
on those adventures that I denied myself
for fear of the unknown.
I laugh when I realize this whole human journey,
from the beginning, has been one big mystery,
and just because I have gathered
bags full of information and suppositions
about what I “think” life is all about,
the mystery continues to beckon me forward,
which brings the other place where courage shows up…
The courage to speak “truth to power”!
Truth speaks to each of us from deep within,
according to how each of us has evolved.
It is not the “property” of those who would
wield power over us according to their interests.
Every living thing and vibrational force
is guided and informed by its inherent
inviolate evolutionary truth and path.
To stand in my truth is to awaken
the power of my courage,
to be the bold beautiful being I came here to be,
and to fly as far as only my wings desire
and are able to take me.
Do not live in regret,
This very moment is full of an unloved promise
that is waiting for you to courageously embrace.
-Tru Guy Starhorse July 14th, 2022
