What does it mean to be a people of COURAGE?

It took courage to sit down in front of my computer and start writing this reflection. First I had to confront a completely blank screen, along with the fear that I might not be able to accomplish the intended objective. Or even if I did, it just might not be good enough.

Performance anxiety is the bane of existence for a perfectionist like me. It helps to remember that once I get going and courageously face my fear of doing something that's unfamiliar, I can usually accomplish whatever I set out to do. Although I will likely judge my output as not good enough, others are just as likely to remind me that some courageous thing I said or did touched a nerve, provided inspiration, or enabled them to be courageous in their own lives.

We generally attribute acts of courage to heroes such as Martin Luther King, Jr. or Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who do big things that change the world. Rev. Scott Tayler, founder of the Soul Matters Sharing Circle, suggests we should give more credit to "common acts of courage…dozens of ordinary acts of bravery we embody every day. … [I]t's our ordinary courage that keeps each other going." When we rise above our fears, we not only create results we had not anticipated, but we also inspire others to do the same. "Courage is not only noble; it's contagious," Rev. Tayler concludes.

But what is this quality we call "courage"? Here's an interesting definition from a courageous fellow:

Ambrose Redmoon, the pseudonym of James Neil Hollingworth, was a writer, beatnik. and hippie who thrived in 1960s San Francisco, managing the psychedelic folk rock bands Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Ace of Cups (one of the first all-female bands) before becoming disabled in a car crash in Muir Beach in 1967. He also founded the Six-Day School on Mount Shasta, teaching students the wilderness skills, such as map and compass reading and food growing, he was convinced would help them survive in an inevitable Armageddon.

Courage enables us to rise above our fears to do extraordinary things! But before we can do those things, it's useful to understand what fear is all about, and to explore our own personal fears.

"Evolutionarily, [fear] is what protected us from that tiger in the bushes," the folks at Soul Matters explain. "Its function has been to point out threats that need to be destroyed or run away from." Since most of us no longer have to worry about tigers, it might be useful to determine what our current-day fears are trying to teach us.

One of the spiritual exercises in this month's Ministry Packet offers an opportunity to enable fear to be your teacher. The steps for this exercise include:

• Reading about how others have reframed fear for themselves. (There are many good sources for this step; here's just one.)

• Creating a list of the current fears you are facing in your life.

• Picking the one fear that feels like it has the most to teach you.

• Determining what that fear is trying to teach you.

• Exploring your fear in a new light, using this quote by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke as context:

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”

Another of this month's Spiritual Exercises suggests we address the overwhelm fear creates by writing a letter to it. In doing so, we can describe the parameters of the relationship we want to have with our fear. American author Elizabeth Gilbert wrote this letter to put her fear in its place:

Remaining in our "comfort zones" can rival fear as the enemy of courage. Familiar routines and spaces can feel good, but they don't necessarily encourage growth. The folks at Soul Matters created a list of Courageous, Anti-Comfort Zone Actions; you might wish to try some of the many "small steps" and "larger leaps" this list suggests.

Courage is the tool that enables us to rise above our fears and break free of our comfort zones. In A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", author Marianne Williamson tells us we are naturally born into a state of love, but we subsequently learn to experience fear (along with its relatives – anxiety, paranoia, and trauma). Fear is an illusion that hides us from our true identity, she explains. Our spiritual journey is to explore ways to unlearn fear, so we can return to our natural state of love.

Williamson's theology seems to me to be remarkably similar to the central Unitarian Universalist value of keeping love at the center. As I practice building the courage to rise above my own fears and break free from my comfort zones while still staying centered on love, I am inspired by this excerpt from A Return to Love: 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

And so, my friends, let us courageously encourage ourselves and each other to let our lights shine brightly!

Seeking a deeper dive into what it means to be a people of COURAGE?

• Check out the one-page COURAGE Overview.

• The complete COURAGE ministry packet is available to UUSM members and friends; to obtain the link, contact Sheila Sandow.