Courage

courage |ˈkərij; ˈkə-rij|nounthe ability to do something that frightens one : she called on all her courage to face the ordeal.• strength in the face of pain or grief : he fought his illness with great courage.PHRASEShave the courage of one's convictions act on one's beliefs despite danger or disapproval.take one's courage in both hands nerve oneself to do something that frightens one.ORIGIN Middle English (denoting the heart, as the seat of feelings): from Old Frenchcorage, from Latin cor ‘heart.’THE RIGHT WORDCourage is what makes someone capable of facing extreme danger and difficulty without retreating (: the courage to confront the enemy head-on). It implies not only bravery and a dauntless spirit but the ability to endure in times of adversity (: a mother's courage in the face of her loss).
I searched for the word courage today on my laptop and the dictionary definition popped up. It touched me deeply as I recognised the experience of relying on open intelligence and the Four Mainstays in the midst of raging afflictions as the greatest of courage. Sometimes it feels completely frightening to let our data rage, and to stay open and ask for support when everything we've learned tells us we need to protect ourselves, hide out and run. Yet it is in doing this; relying on the Mainstays just when we want to 'go it alone' that I have experienced the greatest unfolding of love and power within me. Only by relying on the Four Mainstays in the midst of fear, without rejecting or hiding out from it, has it become clear to me that there nothing to hide from, nothing that needs protecting, there is only pure open benefit within each and every data, even that which I most fear. Thank you to my teachers, the Balanced View community and all the Mainstays for the transmission of courage and support for me to stay put in the midst of raging data-streams, and to stay open, available and to continue on, prioritising benefit for all in all I experience. I am so happy not to be living within conventional ideas about what suffering is - only by facing our suffering completely without shying away do we see there is no suffering anywhere. There is only ever love, compassion and great peace within every single perception.I am endlessly grateful and blessed. Thank you Candice, Kathy and all dear friends committed to open intelligence for the benefit of all.