on courage

As it turns out, it’s extremely easy to find something brave to do every day. I’m very surprised by the things I am actually scared of that I had no idea I was scared of. It’s actually much easier (I think) to muster up the courage to get over my fear of heights and go repelling or hang-gliding, than it would be to consistently face the little moments of fear I’m discovering every day – to be consistently brave around every corner. That pile of papers that needs to be filed? Scared of it. Emptying the car every time I get out of it? Scared of it. Calling the dermatologist to follow up on our bill? Scared of it. Cleaning out the garage? Yep, scared of it.

I never really paid attention before, but there’s an element of fear in everything I have aversion to. Those things I just figure I”ll do later are actually opportunities to embrace my inner warrior. By the end of the year, I’m sure that life is going to look and feel a lot different.

Be Brave

It’s interesting to me how my real New Year’s resolutions only become clear to me well into January. Do not confuse my fake New Year’s resolutions with my real ones. Last year it became glaringly obvious that I needed to laugh more, so my resolution was to laugh out loud as much as possible. It was a great year! (Much thanks and acknowledgment to YogaDawg, Shamanic Cheerleaders, my children, George W Bush, SNL, 30 Rock, and my niece Amber who has the best sense of humor of anyone I know.)

This year, emerging as a theme is COURAGE. All around me are opportunities to get out of my comfort zone and do what needs to be done. So for this year, my resolution is to do something brave, something out of my comfort zone (almost) every day. I’m finding it extremely easy to find these opportunities of discomfort, and I’m planning to exercise those muscles of courage until they’re strong and reliable.

Today I’m going to try to move faster. I know that sounds lame, but it’s really big for me the big slowpoke. It makes me uncomfortable. I wonder what courageous/uncomfortable opportunities tomorrow will bring…