Table of contents
Soft Steps Courageous Heart
Soft steps, full heart
A Spring of courage ignites
Sacred journey’s start
~Dr. Thomas Maples
It takes courage to step outside of the shell we place ourselves within. Yet, like the hermit crab, if we do not move from the confines of that shell we have already grown in size too, we will simply limit our personal potential. We do this by restricting the size of environmental stress and pressure that realized growth demands.
A wise man once said,
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
In relationship to humanity’s primary job, and yes, I am speaking of this in a collective and not individual sense, we must raise the next generation to be stewards of not only their future, but also that of the environment they will nurture, sustain, and even create. Courage must stand at the forefront of that inert drive we have to foster possibility for the generation to come. Is that the ideal we are teaching the next generation? I don’t know if this generation can change. They must step outside of their entrenched perspectives long enough to engage in constructive dialogue. They need to be intelligent and capable enough to listen to alternative perspectives.
Courage and the Potential for Personal Growth
Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
I was a budding doctoral student of psychology. I was amazed at learning about Freud’s vision of a life and death drive. When I heard this, I thought myself, how would any person have an inert drive towards death. Yes, we are bound to search for food. We strive to survive. Many have a drive to pro-create. But a drive towards death, my young and still maturing mind had difficulties fathoming this concept. It was then that I had a childhood memory that sparked my interest. It seemed to blend aspects of curiosity and courage. Yet, from my now more mature, adult-like mind, I saw it as downright lunacy.
Personal Reflections on the Courage’s Curiosity Factor
I was two, siting in one of those waiting pools. Yes my parents were there, supervising me. However, I could not help but wonder what that beautiful eight legged wonder was in front. I remember I let it crawl on me. Maybe it was drowning in the pool. The memory is shoddy at best. Remembering things at two years of age, at most, equates to fragments of what was real. Yet, I can help but think, even in that pixelated memory, what spider did I feasibly let crawl on me.
Luckily, I was not bitten. Yet, looking back at the curiosity, I did not see the virtue of courage. Rather, just a blatant acceptance of the world for its most natural state. I did not know or judge. I just was.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me. (PS23:4)
As the psalm says, we do not have to fear evil, when we have an element of faith. Now, that does not mean we should throw safety to the wind. No, we need to take an active part in our journey, so that God may work through us. Yet, as Sigmund Freud once said,
What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.
Sigmund Freud
How can we re-engage the brilliant radiance of childhood intelligence? How can we create new burning passions to ignite within the mentality of our adult being?
Faith and the Courage to Experiment
Remember when the trees were big? What happened? Did they shrink, or did you grow?
To create faith, that factor of belief in something unknown, one must be willing to experiment. Now, this type of philosophy can go against what we are socially trained to do. Experimentation in teenage years is frowned upon, primarily because it is linked to what can become problematic and/or habitual behaviors. However, when we view the need to re-engage our inner Self with courage, each of us must step outside the barriers we create.
Experiment. Experiment with faith. Maybe try a different religious service or time of prayer. You might just meet new people. Maybe take a new route to work. Experience what it feels like to cook a new food. It is in this capacity to try new things that we may find not only the courage to be but also develop the courage to become that which we are most passionate about.
With blessings my friends. May the courage to become find you on your journey to envision, believe, enact, and advance confidently in the direction of your dreams.
References
“Psalms, Psalm 23.” USCCB, bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
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