Reflect

The word courage comes from the Latin and French words for heart: cor and coeur. These root words are reminders that while courage may sometimes look like the muscled actions of superheroes, it is just as often an attitude of the heart, a way of responding to life that manifests the heart’s wisdom even in the face of fear. This is expressed differently depending on one’s circumstances, capacities, and stage of life. It’s courage that empowers a person to stand on the front lines of a protest or speak up when others are silent. It’s courage that enables a person to extend compassion to someone in need or seek joy amidst destruction. And it’s courage, in the hardest times, that gives someone the strength just to get through another day.

In the midst of the world’s brokenness, it may be tempting to shut off the news and turn away. For many, though, turning away isn’t an option, and courage is not a choice. For everyone else, courage is imperative — an essential component of our collective healing and survival. Maria Popova reminds us that this essential courage can begin with gratefulness: “In these blamethirsty times, to praise is an act of courage and resistance. To insist on what is beautiful without turning away from the broken. To bless what is simply for being, knowing that none of it had to be.”

This week’s practices offer an invitation to consider what courage looks like in your life right now, both within yourself and in the world around you.