Word for the Week

Yesterday was a tad manic - getting two teens out the door for 9 am exams, then me to hydrotherapy. A really great session, but I did a bit too much and slept a lot of the afternoon...

So here I am today, somewhat refreshed but aching, and ready to pull a Rediscovery Card from the bag...

'Tis a BIG word for this time of the morning!!

From the Old French corage, from cuer 'heart', from Latin cor.

I always like this - that Courage is heart-driven, heart-led. Hence, it's often seen as reckless, foolhardy... Your brain is saying, 'No, you're crazy to go into that burning building, to go back into the firing line to rescue your buddies, to get up in the morning when every muscle fibre in your body is aching, hurting...' But your heart is saying, 'I must do this! It's my job, my duty, my family depends on me...'

There are so many faces of courage, many of them we never see. We never know what private battles people we work with, those we see in the supermarket, pass in the street, are facing, but I'm guessing most of us are more courageous than we realize...

This week's readings in The Lotus and the Lily are about Forgiveness, clearing space in our hearts, our lives for good things to flow, and Forgiveness takes courage - to really forgive, to really let go, to really clear space...

I did a lot of work last year to forgive my mother, to weep over my lost childhood... But throughout this past year her voice, which has echoed in my head for most of my life, has gradually receded and my own voice, my Soulself, has got stronger, and easier to hear.

My hope is that in the coming years, I will have the Courage to give my Voice even more outer expression in drawing/painting, in writing/publishing a book, and this blog is the beginning of this tentative, heart-led life of