“Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, stay brave and strong and love without stopping.” I Corinthians 16: 13-14 The Message
A friend of mine shared this verse with me today. She pointed out that there is a side to courage that is gentle. Stay strong and love. With heroism comes compassion. It reminds me of Shawn. It encourages me with how I want to live; what I strive towards.
“Courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it." Lt. John B. Putnam Jr. (1921-1944)
Along with boldness comes fear. I fear that I will not be strong enough. I am worried about what other people may think. I am afraid of failing. I am scared of letting Shawn down. I am apprehensive about claiming that I am doing this “grieving thing” right. I get nervous about how I sound and anxious that my ideas to honor Shawn will be rejected. I am timid at times with life and how to speak in confidence.
"The only thing we have to fear is fear it’self – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." FDR – First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
All great ideas are born with an element of fear. Fear of acceptance, fear of feasibility, fear of the future, fear of the results. It seems to me that fear is natural.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." Frank Herbert, Dune – Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear
I am working hard to conquer my fears; to stay brave and strong – to hold tight to my convictions and to give it all I’ve got. If I add love, then fear lessons. If I am able to bring in the compassion element, my focus of insecurity changes my attention towards the greater good.
