Jennifer Bonadio

The root of the word courage is ‘heart’; it is made of Love, a Radical Love… of life, of another, of self, of Earth. I’ve been moved of late by the courage that is being expressed by so many of our diverse human tribe – a dedicated Love that’s taking care of those suffering the most. And then there’s the quiet courage that it is taking simply to be here on this Earth at this time, doing our best to hold steady in the face of so many unknowns is incredibly brave.

Courage isn’t always a grand statement…it’s the every-day, all the time, showing up for yourself and others. Courage stays open, taking the chance to love and have hope for life, cherishing all the moments with our beloveds. We can’t assume anything anymore. All the epithets you have ever heard about the spiritual path are here, asking to be lived, what we have practiced for.  Surrender, Accept, Trust. Only our Hearts know this wild territory, only our Hearts can guide us all forward to the world we are dreaming is possible.

It takes courage to let go of the past, and the identity we have woven from past comforts and pains. It takes courage to be free, and do the work of meeting life with all of our intelligence, rather than depending on others to guide our thoughts.  Deep self-loving takes a wild courage; to protect yourself from the constant evaluations and illusions of mind is a foundational practice. The fruit of the work is your holy and innocent naturalness.

And then there’s the brave, and very brave learning to surrender, little-deaths-each-day courage…bound to become strength all up under us as we step up and lead with our Heart, and express the full power of our integrated body/mind/spirit intelligence. Practices are invaluable…practice snacks, throughout the day, are what’s working for me now. Breath, Meditation, short bites – all help keep me in my body, keep me coming back to Love.

Meditation is a courage builder…it helps us remember, makes us smarter. It brings us closer in, to a true-north of honesty and commonality.  Meditation medicine brings a balancing yin to too-much yang and frees the rhythm that feels like trust in the body/mind. Trust is the close kin to the courage we so deeply need now.

Listen in to your heart…there you may find just the Grace you need to receive…