The letter C

The letter C

Today's blog is brought to you by the letter C……..

cour·age:

Mental or moral strength to persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Courage is a big word. I didn't need courage to de-clutter my home. Perhaps if I was cleaning the fridge, I may need courage to throw out that moldy oozing lump of some long forgotten vegetable—or is it possibly cheese?

Cleaning the closet of my heart is different. It takes determination AND courage.
Looking back on my life and the opportunities I was given, some I had the courage and wisdom to take, but for some I did not trust my instincts enough--courage waned and I chose the perception of safety to taking a risk. I reasoned away  precious opportunities. I feared that if I reached out to grasp my dream it would disintegrate and disappear into wisps of surreality. My dream didn't vanish. Just the opportunity. My dream hangs there, between the heart clutter of fear and regret.

Maya Angelou, American author and poet, says, " History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be un-lived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

I cannot change the past, I can only change the way I do things now..........and the only way forward is with courage. That acrid smell? That's fear--I’m tossing it. The moldy smell? That's regret--I have examined it closely and painfully. It's getting the boot---it has done all it can for me.

My dream? I've taken it off the hanger and washed it in hope. It may need to be altered, but it is mine. I am moving forward. Life is not without fear and difficulties—or specifically the difficulty of regret. I will choose to stand and be courageous even if I am a quivering mess of nerves.

I am living deliberately now--with my eyes and ears wide open and when my opportunity knocks, I will open the door wide and let the fresh hope that lives in my heart shine and I will bid life welcome.