What coast are you edging along? Is your island of safety that unsatisfying relationship or job? Then you know what kind of courage it takes to let go of the known and venture into the vast sea of possibilities looking for the lover or career that truly suits you.
Don't despair. You're right to stay where you are if you haven't yet charted a course towards your new life.
The good news is, when you know what you don't want you can clearly see what you do want. Ponder the contrast until your goal is obvious.
Now you have a treasure map; now you're no longer sailing into the unknown, for your clarity will unerringly lead you towards the satisfaction of your desires.
X marks the spot!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
"If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it."-- John Irving
I have a friend who loves being an office worker, but she's ashamed to say so. Shouldn't a life that deserves a word like "love" be a romantic creative venture?
I don't think so.
It's a misperception that an ordinary life must be stultifying and unsatisfying.
It's weird that society has rules about what kind of life deserves our passion, but it seems to. Therefore it's important to ignore societal pressure and just love what you love and "have the courage to live it".
When you do this, you're doing us all a favor. You help us expand the definition of what a "good life" is and you inspire others to live their choices with grace and pride.
.
I don't think so.
It's a misperception that an ordinary life must be stultifying and unsatisfying.
It's weird that society has rules about what kind of life deserves our passion, but it seems to. Therefore it's important to ignore societal pressure and just love what you love and "have the courage to live it".
When you do this, you're doing us all a favor. You help us expand the definition of what a "good life" is and you inspire others to live their choices with grace and pride.
.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
"Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want." -- Miguel Angel Ruiz
Why is it so hard to ask for what we want? Why does a simple demand for clarity--or a statement of preference-- feel so revealing, so weak? We often prefer groping in the dark, hoping to find our own answers rather than ask a question that risks exposing our ignorance.
Why do we pretend we're perfect when we're not? Why is is so hard to be human?
Our arrogant desire to be "right" might be the very thing that's pushing us toward extinction. Perhaps having the courage to be humble, knowing we don't have all the answers, might lead us in a direction that guarantees our survival.
Why do we pretend we're perfect when we're not? Why is is so hard to be human?
Our arrogant desire to be "right" might be the very thing that's pushing us toward extinction. Perhaps having the courage to be humble, knowing we don't have all the answers, might lead us in a direction that guarantees our survival.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
"Do you really think it is weakness that yields to temptation? I tell you that there are terrible temptations which it requires strength, strength and courage to yield to."-- Oscar Wilde9
Oscar describes here the continual battle to be yourself when the social norms are against you.
In this quote he was probably describing his struggles as a homosexual in Victorian England. You couldn't be good if you were gay. His yielding to those "terrible temptations" landed him in jail for his perceived immorality.
Being "of one's time" usually refers to a person who has followed the era's "correct" social behavior and opinion. A visionary refers to someone who can see how the future might be improved if social norms change. A person of courage is one who moves to change the restrictions and morals that turn harmless behavior into "terrible temptations" and thus creating more openness and freedom for us all.
In this quote he was probably describing his struggles as a homosexual in Victorian England. You couldn't be good if you were gay. His yielding to those "terrible temptations" landed him in jail for his perceived immorality.
Being "of one's time" usually refers to a person who has followed the era's "correct" social behavior and opinion. A visionary refers to someone who can see how the future might be improved if social norms change. A person of courage is one who moves to change the restrictions and morals that turn harmless behavior into "terrible temptations" and thus creating more openness and freedom for us all.
Friday, October 25, 2013
"The weak in courage is strong in cunning."-- William Blake
Anyone with parents knows this, so I guess that means all of us.
How many times did we obfuscate, subvert, and divert attention to do what we know they didn't want us to do. We watched them like hawks to suss out how we could get around their attention and their questions. When asked directly whether or not we did thus and so, we LIED!
Cunning? Yes. Courageous? Not so much, but in our defence we lied to keep everyone happy. Our parents were much happier, because they wouldn't like knowing who we really were and what we really did, and we were much happier because we got to do what we wanted.
Win, win.
How many times did we obfuscate, subvert, and divert attention to do what we know they didn't want us to do. We watched them like hawks to suss out how we could get around their attention and their questions. When asked directly whether or not we did thus and so, we LIED!
Cunning? Yes. Courageous? Not so much, but in our defence we lied to keep everyone happy. Our parents were much happier, because they wouldn't like knowing who we really were and what we really did, and we were much happier because we got to do what we wanted.
Win, win.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
"One of the marks of a gift is to have the courage of it."-- Katherine Anne Porter
I don't know if Katherine is right in all cases, but I would definitely change the "C" word from "Courage" to "Compulsion" when looking at the gifted.
It seems to me that people with a gift can't help but do what they do. It's all they want to do, it's all they need to do, it's a focused attention to one thing that's almost superhuman.
With the gifted, excellence comes naturally. They do what they do very, very well--as well they should. Their focus from birth is to express the gift they've been given and share it with others.
It takes work to fashion raw talent into fabulous, amazing art; work and dedication that's harder to maintain when you aren't "gifted". The frustration of the merely talented when they compare themselves with the gifted must be overcome, for it takes courage for talented artists to keep going in the face of a gifted person's effortless competence and mastery.
I would say that the mark of a talented artist is to have the courage of it.
It seems to me that people with a gift can't help but do what they do. It's all they want to do, it's all they need to do, it's a focused attention to one thing that's almost superhuman.
With the gifted, excellence comes naturally. They do what they do very, very well--as well they should. Their focus from birth is to express the gift they've been given and share it with others.
It takes work to fashion raw talent into fabulous, amazing art; work and dedication that's harder to maintain when you aren't "gifted". The frustration of the merely talented when they compare themselves with the gifted must be overcome, for it takes courage for talented artists to keep going in the face of a gifted person's effortless competence and mastery.
I would say that the mark of a talented artist is to have the courage of it.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
"Necessity does the work of courage."-- Nicholas M. Butler
Yes, I guess it does.
When you absolutely have to, come hell or highwater, do what you are afraid to do, then you summon the courage to accomplish that task. Necessity does do the work of courage then, but true courage means that you stand up for what's right whether you "need" to or not. You do it because it's the only thing a person of integrity can do.
When you absolutely have to, come hell or highwater, do what you are afraid to do, then you summon the courage to accomplish that task. Necessity does do the work of courage then, but true courage means that you stand up for what's right whether you "need" to or not. You do it because it's the only thing a person of integrity can do.
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