A Different Kind of Courage
A Different Kind of Courage
I forgot to pray this morning – ooops! – and you could say that I am crying now because of it. A sharp email from an unexpected source has cut into me. It wasn’t even anything to do with me, but affects someone else. How embarrassed we can become, on behalf of other people!
I have every reason to be cheerful. I have a family who love me, a life that many would envy, peace, and a place in which I can be myself without attracting disapproval. These are all precious gifts, and I do not take them for granted.
When difficulties come, what can I do with them? Should I walk straight through them, dodge around them or silently ignore them? Probably, at the moment, a dignified silence is the best option, so that if there are any misunderstandings, at least I do not add to them. It is so easy to say what one doesn’t mean, especially with emails.
But wait! Before I go in a huddle of silent martyrdom, is there something more to be gleaned from a niggling difficulty? Is this particular something worth taking the time to master, or am I wasting my time with it? If this particular crux is about learning mastery, then peaceful acceptance may well be best, forcing me to carry on with breathing as serenely as I can, waiting silent in the meantime for life to show me what to do.
On the other hand, spiritual wisdom also teaches us that when the way is strewn with boulders, or we have a stream of constant snags, or feel as if we are always walking on eggshells around a certain situation, this may be a signal that we should be going and doing something else. Maybe a difficult situation is there to remind us that there are other projects and places where being would be easier, more rewarding and more in accordance with our longer-term plans. If we are walking along a rutted road which is bordered by a smooth path, it is idiotic to continue on the road.
If a project never seems to go smoothly, or feels as if it is conspiring against us, that might be our signal to leave. Then the main questions are, is this situation A or situation B? and If this is situation B, when and how may I leave tactfully and with the minimum loss of face to everyone involved. That takes the sort of courage that I am not used to exercising. Perhaps that is my next challenge.
