"The word courage is very interesting. It comes from a Latin
root cor, which means ‘heart’. So to be courageous means to live with
the heart. And weaklings, only weaklings, live with the head; afraid,
they create a security of logic around themselves. Fearful, they close
every window and door - with theology, concepts, words, theories - and
inside those closed doors and windows, they hide.
The way of the heart is the way of courage. It is to live in
insecurity; it is to live in love, and trust; it is to move in the
unknown. It is leaving the past and allowing the future to be. Courage
is to move on dangerous paths. Life is dangerous, and only cowards can
avoid the danger - but then, they are already dead. A person who is
alive, really alive, vitally alive, will always move into the unknown.
There is danger there, but he will take the risk. The heart is always
ready to take the risk, the heart is a gambler. The head is a
businessman. The head always calculates - it is cunning. The heart is
non-calculating."
The 3 most important aspects of courage I think to take away from this quote are…
1. Courage is Not Fearlessness: That’s right. Since you are going to be
dealing with the unknown and with uncertainly, there is bound to be
apprehension. That’s ok. Courage is to move forward despite this fear.
So don’t feel like you lack courage simply because you have fear. Look
at the fear as an opportunity to exercise your courage muscle. As Osho
would put it, embrace uncertainty.
2. Listen to the Heart, Not the Mind: In the article How to Escape Your
Suffering: The Blind Man vs. The Cripple I went into this point where
your guide ought to be your heart and not your mind. The mind will
endlessly battle for security, it will wobble between the pros and
cons. The heart, on the other hand, will help you to jump into the
great unknown and help you to be true to your passions.
3. Courage Allows you to Live in the Present: This is the essence of
courage. To allow the unknown future to take shape and be willing to
move out of the mind and into the moment. So instead of trying to
manipulate life to avoid uncertainty, simply take an innocent attitude
instead. There are no guarantees here that things will go right, there
is only danger and mystery, courage means to be willing to go forward
nonetheless.
-OSHO-
