Courage Is Within
Hi friend,
Effortlessly climbing trees and jumping from them onto the ground below. Gliding across monkey bars at the playground and spinning my body on bars suspended in the air. Trying to land that perfect cartwheel or somersault, sometimes landing hard on the unforgiving ground beneath me. Courage has always been within, the same as it has for you.
Somehow adulthood brings with it a temporary memory loss of the cool things we allowed ourselves to do when we were younger. It seems to be replaced with a focus on all the reasons why we can’t do or be something.
In eighth grade, I dug deep into my courage to speak in front of the school board to try to save my English teacher from losing her job (to no fault of her own—the bullshit politics of education). I believed in something greater than me and wanted to know that I had given my all in doing what I could. The cause was greater than the fear.
At fifteen I flew halfway around the world, on my own, to spend the holidays with my high school sweetheart and his family (our relationship lasted for 2.5 years). I was filled with excitement; the fear was nonexistent.
If I keep rewinding to the past, I am reminded of the amazing things I did. I now hold on to these more closely to remind myself that there is still more courage to be uncaged. The dreams have gotten bigger and sure, the risks can often be bigger too, but for me at this stage in my life, the risk of wondering, of not knowing, is greater than the risk of trying and it not working. At least I’ll know.
As I gather all these past experiences, a smile paints itself on my face. I truly am an awesome human being. I’ve done shit that other people would be and are too scared to do. I’m willing to bet the same is true for you. You’ve probably done some crazy shit that others would not even dare to attempt. That is what makes you uniquely awesome.
So pull up those big girl pants, dive into the memories and recall all the coolness you created in your life, and wrap your arms around this pot of awesomeness every time you start doubting the next move you’re thinking of making, the next thing you’re thinking about creating, that big dream that just doesn’t seem to go away.
Because you, my dear, have tapped into your courage before—many times. You just need a little reminder.
- Jen