Courage

"Courage is the heart's blossom."Mark Nepo

Mark Nepo talks about the important of courage and says that it is directly related to authenticity.  When someone runs into a burning building to retrieve a child,or when someone has the courage to say no to a medical treatment not deemed in one's best interest, or when one speaks the truth gently but firmly to others, all of this takes courage.  And, Nepo says this kind of courage is what brings us joy and it can come about only when we are authentic.  I heard recently that Buddhist monks are sometimes asked, for their first meditation, to consider "Who am I?"  What a good exercise for us all.  Who am I?  Who are you?   It is in considering these questions that we develop authenticity.