Courage does not come from the ether, dropping like the Holy Spirit on us to be absorbed like a sacred wafer under the tongue. It is not bestowed. It is innate. It is intrinsic. You have courage now, despite the fact it may have been coerced into silence, or forced into submission. Your courage is as native to you as your blood and bones. It lies there ready to be drawn on like a spring of cold, clear water. It is of you, and made of you – It waits only for you to draw it forth.
We would like to do such work in secret, in safety, where nobody can mock or expose us. We’d like to form close circles in closeted spaces where our courage can grow nurtured and fed until we deem it mature enough to show to the tumult outside. But it’s too late for that. That work is done. It’s time to break the circles and abandon the bowers. It’s time to take our courage out into the wilds now. It’s time to trust we are stronger than the storm, safer than we know. It’s time to immerse ourselves in the study of courage, and there is no other way but through. We will cast out all fear with this courage, my dear, and the school of courage is out here, in the wilds.
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