Most of us are searching for something. Courage is not the first thing that comes to mind. Neither is bravery. Until you need to be brave. Most people search for happiness. So much so, that happiness experts pursue them right back.
They say that in any solid organization, it’s only as strong as it’s weakest link, which is why the best organizations also take care of their most vulnerable populations. To have strength at the foundation, the entire pillar is steadfast. To be brave enough to build that strength, they ultimately create a space for the more ethereal realizations of purpose, meaning, clarity, and their calling in life. We can’t build a successful life today, without also having courage.
Is happy enough?
Not everyone is happy, or wants to be. What if we’re content and that’s all we want? Not everyone is in search of bliss, or euphoria, or delirious laughter. Sure, that high of positive emotion is great. But some of us have learned the subtle nuances of finding a gentler version of happy. To the outside world, being at peace is an act of personal bravery. The art of living in a calm silence is my happy enough. The world around us wants overt joy. A simpler, less obvious state of happiness takes an act of bravery, just to exist.
Bravery
For a very long time, I shared a common goal with millions of people who faced their day by focusing on bravery. Some people need the courage to wake up, to get up, to become present in the day. Millions of people around the world struggle with more than worrying if they are happy enough. Sure, everyone wants that. But they make peace with knowing that safety, security, courage, and a sustained life are the best building blocks of their existence.
To be brave is to know that you can make something of the day that you are given. Miyamoto Mushashi said, “There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
In life, even the most brilliant and accomplished people will fail, fall down, stumble, waiver from their truth, question themselves. The most brilliant people, if truly gifted will always have the bravery to question themselves with the confidence that within the questions, lies the answers. Only the fool knows that they are right all the time.
Knowing your truth
Bruce Lee, one of the most accomplished masters said, “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to act in the presence of fear.”
To master the art of life, we must be brave. We must be persistent. We must want to master meaning as a resource for all other goals, including the pursuit of happiness. We must master our minds as our greatest teacher, but only when we are brave enough to become as happy with our failures as we are our wins. This is the noetic truth of discovering meaning.
Peace and Love,
Karen
About the Author: Karen Henry, MA CRM owns Henry Healing as a holistic well-being practitioner and writer. She’s a former university professor and current scholar practicing the infusion of positive, existential and community psychology.