Most people do not realize it, but it takes a lot of heart to be brave; to think outside the box, go against the grain of the status quo, and embrace a life of radical changes and transformative moments.   Most of the time, it requires far less courage to deal with things that are less painful, more conventional, more popular, or easier to understand.  The braver the choices we make, the more likely we are to attract criticism – but that’s what makes a choice brave in the first place.

Matters of the heart, mind, spirit, and body affect us daily, and dealing with these issues is not always the easiest thing to do.  Only fools think they know how to handle it all.  Wise, capable people have a rather different view.  They acknowledge their own limitations and mistakes and encourage themselves to go beyond them and when necessary, to concede defeat.  They have confidence, but they do not let it turn into arrogance.  Bravado requires transformation – not in a physical capacity but in the spiritual realm of the heart.  Being brave doesn’t necessarily mean winning as an end result, nor does it mean walking away from an issue of importance that needs to be addressed.  Courage is not a deficiency we lack nor is it ever depleted.  Courage is not something that appears in times of emergencies or moments of need, but cultivated from within.

The benefits of bravery can bring us joy, satisfaction, and clarification.  Once we are able to decode the silent messages from others, confront present fears, distinguish uncalculated wounds, and embrace discomforted circumstances, we can face another day with a rehabilitated heart and a brave soul.  Sustaining a brave heart suggests that we expand our consciousness through a powerful process of emotional and material change from which we can only profit.

If you want to start seeing things differently you have to start doing things differently; and if you want to start doing things differently, you have to stop doing things in the way you have always done them.  As reasonable and practical as that sounds, it is undeniably the kind of advice that many of us have difficulty putting into practice because we are creatures of habit.  We draw on our experience.  Our patterns of behavior and old routines get the best of us and we often forget that the mind is stronger than the habit.  We should consider allowing the journey from our mind to our heart to lead us to that voice – the brave voice.

So I ask, just how brave are you?  Have you checked in with yourself lately?  Are you riding your revolutionary wave? Are you allowing that energy to carry you?  Are you setting boundaries for those that are judging and not respecting you?  Are you letting go of your fears?  The universe wants freedom for you in relationships that you love, in assemblies that are advantageous, and in a life that brings you peace and priority.  What is difficult now won’t always be so difficult.

This season, be mindful of your motivations.  Consider what it is that you need to change and how to go about it.  Whatever has been based until now on an artificial assumption must be replaced by something that has real merit, real courage.  It’s a brave new world in more ways than one – not necessarily the world outside but the very one YOU own.  Despite whatever obstacles you may now face, enter October with a courageous heart.  Be bold. Be balanced. Be brave.

Love and Light for your Tuesday.

Reference commentary of June 19, 2012: The Power of Positive Transformation