There are more things likely to frighten us than there are to crush us:
we suffer more often in imagination than in reality
Seneca the Younger, Letters from a Stoic
Courage
Tag: Courage
A new month, a new frontier
Human beings are a frontier between what is known and what is not known. The act of turning any part of the unknown into the known is simply an invitation for an equal measure of the unknown to flow in and re-establish that frontier: to reassert both the exterior and interior horizon of an individual life; to make us what we are – that is – a moving edge between what we know about ourselves and what we are about to become. What we are actually about to become or are afraid of becoming always trumps and rules over what we think we are already.
David Whyte, “Self-knowledge” in Consolations
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Take the leap
There are second thoughts happening each time you act.
There is hesitation, and from that hesitation or gap, you can go backward or forward. Changing the flow of karma happens in that gap. So the gap is very useful.
It is in the gap that you give birth to a new life.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, The Truth of Suffering and the Path of Liberation
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Take the step
He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.
Jean-Luc Godard, 1930 – , French Film Director
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Being comfortable with the unknown
Forget about life, forget about worrying about right and wrong.
Plunge into the unknown and the endless and find your place there.
Chuang Tzu, Chinese philosopher, 4th century BC
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Not being afraid
As Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche summarizes: “Ultimately, that is the definition of bravery: not being afraid of yourself.” Believing the seemingly non-stop, discursive commentary that courses through our heads simply interferes with letting ourselves be the brave beings we actually are. Such hyper-vigilance stems from fear, of course: “If I don’t check myself constantly, won’t I make a mistake?”
Letting go of incessantly measuring and comparing ourselves to others leads to spontaneous acts of courage and compassion. It’s like learning a dance step well enough that we no longer need to keep looking down at our feet.
Gaylon Ferguson, Natural Bravery
