COURAGE TO KEEP GOING
OCTOBER 13, 2009: We have a gazillion opportunities to practice courage each and every day. Not the land a plane safely, pick a car off a trapped person sort of courage but the quiet courage of daily life. There is nothing more heroic than not stopping the ride we’re on and just keep going. We don’t know what the outcome of our actions will be and likely it may not be the outcome we want it to be. Courage is saying Yes I don’t know what comes of this and Yes I will try none the less.
Courage in this practice comes from the heart. And our hearts are more resilient than sometimes we give them credit for being. “It is not easy to keep your heart open in the face of the trials of being human. Life can so often be difficult, disappointing. When we finally stop struggling with life, stop wanting it to be anything but what it is now – not giving up – then our heart will indeed fall open, and we shall know beyond all doubt that, however dark the night, all is already well.” (unknown author)
Fellow yoga teacher Sadie Nardini says “Alongside positive change, challenge appears. You will confront old fears, old ways of being, as you drive through to your soul. Along the road to your best life possible, be prepared for delays. There will be potholes, irritating construction, and long stretches of open space where nothing seems to be happening. That’s life, imperfectly perfect. The lag times and frustrations are necessary to hone your discipline and commitment to your path.” Yes having the courage to keep driving, not pull over and stop the car is like being in a pose in class and just staying with it or doing the same pose more than once in the same class, or practicing that pose over months of time where it still may be hard or nothing seems to be happening but nonetheless we keep showing up. When we have the courage to keep going we are really embracing our humanness and by doing so we embrace the perfectly imperfect nature of all people. We are doing the best we can, it simply is the doing the process itself that matters the most. Wishing you your own best courage! Sat Nam, Silvia