It takes courage to look at ourselves. Courage means taking responsibility for ourselves. It means a willingness to try new things. With courage we have the capacity to face fears and character defects. We begin to accept responsibility and accountability for our actions. Rather than blaming parents or society.
Many of us have been told that we are not good enough. or have sinned. Looking into our inner being might be frightening. When I started meditation practice, I was afraid of finding the demon within me. So, whenever I got further with my meditation, I sabotaged it due to fear. This lasted until I learned that within the core of our being resides the Divine. In the Upanishads they refer to the heart center, where the Divine resides, as a lotus. The lotus flower opens when the light shines and closes when the light diminishes. But the stem of the lotus is always rooted and gives energy no matter what the light source. Similarly, within each of us is the energy of the Divine. Without it we would not be alive. I like to think of the heart center being a lotus with a pilot light. We used to have a stove that had a pilot light, and it was always on to light the other burners. So, each of us has the light of the divine within us. It does not matter if we are a saint or sinner, that light is always there. So, we need not fear looking into ourselves. The core of our being is the Divine. We will only find the light of the divine which we have covered with clouds that can be dispersed. Just like the sun is always there during the day, but we cannot see it when clouds are in the sky.
When we look into ourselves, we do not wish to see the truth. We then compensate by defensive pride, anger, guilt, and shame. Marianne Williamson states it perfectly: “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” It takes courage.
Courage brings inner confidence and personal power. It is not dependent on an outside force. It is not dependent on others opinion or approval. To choose integrity and honesty is self-rewarding with an inner freedom. Our inner Self, our Spirit knows the truth. When we do not acknowledge the truth of our Spirit, we are drawn into the collective consciousness of our society for validation.
The quest for validation may take us into concepts and beliefs that are not truth but proselytized by a segment of society. This may lead us into being prejudiced and intolerant even though the core of our being is always fighting against such beliefs. Therefore, we look towards our society, friends and, family with similar beliefs to validate us. To break free from a social untruth requires extreme courage and one may find the consequences too distressing. But if we do not follow the truth, there is always a nagging of discomfort within us. This discomfort leads to things that jar our health and wellbeing, like pride, anger, greed, stress, guilt, shame, rage, depression etc.
We also need courage to challenge our fears, our self-doubts, and the fear of failure. Courage does not mean absence of fear, but the willingness to confront it. Once accomplished we gain hidden strengths and fortitude. Strong intention coupled with determination can bring wonderful success. But most importantly it increases self-esteem and confidence.
Once we gain a little courage then we are capable of reflection concerning the inner workings of our consciousness. Self-inquiry requires strength to look at our limitations and accept them without judgment. This will begin to give us inner power to strive for honesty and integrity and leads to discernment between truth and illusion. Inner confidence brings new power to achieve what we set out to do.
It takes courage to accept that we need Spirit for our strength. Bill Wilson and Bob Smith realized that they could not conquer alcoholism by themselves: “surrendering to a higher power” was required. Their 12-step program is very successful in not only treating alcoholics, but also other addictions. We need to accept that without Spirit we are powerless.
When we surrender the ego and ask for Divine Grace, we begin to embrace our inner power. Our life’s purpose comes into view. The alignment with integrity through Grace brings acceptance of character defects. They are seen as challenges for self-improvement rather than excuses, blame or resentment. A realistic look at limitations will develop into tolerance. Courage then is the willful act of deciding to live with inner honesty and integrity no matter what the obstacles are.
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” – Maya Angelou
