20 April 2011 // 06:39 pm // 4 Comments
HC Classic: Courage
I’m always glad to hear from those of you who are taking up the challenge of exploring your own unique, God-given creativity. As I recently mentioned in this space, therein lies your very own Calling. Along with it, as with every creative calling, will come great Risk and Adventure, and when pursued whole-heartedly, it will ultimately require a great deal of Courage on your part, regardless of how confident you feel about the matter.
Of course, anything that requires real Courage, by definition, also will run the risk of hitting those occasional pockets where Courage is stolen away, where it is in rare supply, where you find yourself gasping for it like oxygen at high altitudes. Where you are dis-Couraged.
I’ll admit that I pushed through one of those breathless moments of discouragement myself just the other day, and in a strange sort of way, I’m fairly happy to be able to say that. It’s not that I enjoy the feeling of discouragement, and to be quite honest, it isn’t something in which I recommend spending a whole lot of time. It’s just that the folks that I know who never experience discouragement are usually, though not always, the ones who avoid any situation that would require Courage at all. Because you can’t be truly dis-Couraged until you’ve had the occasion to have Courage in the first place. The fact that I was gasping for oxygen must mean that I was still climbing the mountain.
And I know you, my dear Crazy Friend, and you are not one of those people who are content to live in what Theodore Roosevelt called that “gray twilight” where no risk is required.
Onward and upward…
All my best,
Shun Lee
Actor & Writer
© 2011. All rights reserved.
- Published in:
- Life in Los Angeles,
- Creativity & Art
April 22, 2011 // 01:54 pm // #
You are so right Shun Lee. Some days it’s just hard to put one foot in front of the other. It is then that I try to remember all the things I’m grateful for - because -try it sometime - you cannot be grateful and worried at the same time. Check out the book, “This is Your Brain On Joy,” by Dr. Earl Henslin. best, Anne Mount
April 22, 2011 // 06:21 pm // #
Couldn’t agree more! Making the leap of faith requires stepping to the edge of the cliff. The next step is His - carrying you safely to your destination as He promised. Just…TRUST in Him!
April 22, 2011 // 06:57 pm // #
Think of it like this—God says, “Fear not.” Obedience to His “command” =s “Courage” that frees us from the fear that would “rob, kill, destroy God’s promises, blessings, state of peace, joy and righteousness IN the Holy Spirit. When we look at ‘fear/discouragement’ that way, —we can laugh in it’s face and take the leap into God’s presence “where there’s fullness of joy and pleasure at His right hand forevermore.” Voila!
April 23, 2011 // 08:41 am // #
I agree wholeheartedly with everything here as I’ve experienced tons of discouragement due to many adventures I’ve embarked on since taking the huge adventure of coming to US by myself in 1997 to go to college. I would add that even the times where I lost my “faith” and “hope” in God along the way, He never left my side and allowed my adventurous spirit to explore my own “crazy” ways, my creative freedom only -in this case of course I failed without His help and the discouragement was HUGE. We are not meant to embark on adventures alone I think as we are told to “lean not on our own understanding” but instead “trust Him”, be mindful of Him/ ” acknowledge Him” in all you do and “He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6) I’m going to be 34 this year and I have to say that when I look back my greatest adventures have been the ones where I put my trust and faith entirely on Him and even though it still got bumpy here and there(I think those are times where we as people chose to leave His side and take our own little path for a while, which sets us back a few steps but since we are given that freedom He will allow us to do that), still the greatest adventure even up to this day lies in how much I’m willing to let go and trust Him instead to lead me in it all the way to the end!