Courage and Resilience

The thought for this topic arose from Super Soul Sunday with the story of Wholefoods CEO John Mackey. At a point in his life, somehow he became very conscious of life being short and he decided to live and do the things he really wanted to do. He was in school at that time. He took up various electives, things he really wanted to learn but didn’t complete his education. With courage and confidence he followed the path. The path of doing what one really wants to do.

As I think of my life, it points more to resilience. At age of 16, I decided to pursue courses in science and I struggled. It wasn’t the right fit but I kept at it. During my career too there have been roles that weren’t a fit or roles that after sometime didn’t seem to fit. I kept at it too, with resilience. I waited for the perfect time to get out, the low-risk method.

Courage also reminds me of Maya Angelou who considered courage to be the prime value. It is courage that gives us strength to follow our dreams and live by our ideals. And its resilience that helps us not quit when the road gets harder. I would argue resilience also requires strength and courage. Though I would also argue that if your heart tells you it’s the wrong path, you should have the courage to take the risk and quit. Dear God, help me have the courage to identify and walk on the path and the resilience to keep at it.

I have the courage

To follow my dreams

And I have the resilience

To walk the path

I have the courage

To take it on

And I have the resilience

To keep at it

I have the courage

To Trust

And I have the resilience

To love

I have the courage

To seek You

And the resilience

To not quit

What do you think? Do you lean more towards courage or resilience?

The Stages and the stage

This topic always reminds me of the last line in Richard Bach’s book Illusions: “Everything in this book may be wrong.” Life is a stage, an experimental laboratory, and a place where you can achieve the most—or be content with the least. Yet, it still is a stage, a place where plays are enacted; and like all plays, it ends eventually. Sadly, only few of us constantly remember this. Forgetting helps while we play the character, but it hurts when we get affected by the environment.

An interesting aspect is that it’s an ever-changing play. The people who have realized that life is a play have reached the stage (or state) of near-realization. Thus, life is a pursuit through age and the various stages of life on a stage to achieve a state. It’s filled with experimentation, fun choices, bad decisions, and default consequences—in a word, “learning.”

We have experienced all three. We see the stages when we look at our parents, our grandparents, our children, and ourselves. Sometimes, it’s funny how we realize our age when we suddenly notice how our friends have aged!

The key is to change our perception and be an observer of the current situation, as if we are in the clouds, observing from above. I often say to myself that the things that concern me today, that are a big cause of worry, will not even be remembered in the next five years, five months, or even five days. Thinks about the times when you were so nervous before an exam. Do you really even think about that day, now that it’s all over?

If we are lucky, we get to meet people who have reached the “stage”—or at least read about them. Of course, for them, the struggle is to maintain the “state.” The fun never ends!

On this stage

I reminisce

The stage I was in

Ten years ago

Out of college—free and wild

Just starting a job

Living on my own

Experimenting and

Experiencing

“Maturity” and “life”

The play continues

In a new country

Stark differences

With abundance of money

But craving company

Enjoying and

Living

“Changes” and “life”

And

A little one joins

The play

Naughtiness and smiles

And stubbornness too

Teaching and

Learning

“Love” and “life”

The stages continue

On this stage of Life

And I work

Sometimes more

And sometimes less

Hoping, wishing, yearning for

That ‘State’

The Child's Wings

This topic was inspired from a dream. I dreamt that I and Pranav saw this beautiful butterfly at home. Not sure why, maybe to protect it or to ensure it doesn’t come in our way, we put it under a net. The butterfly was very wise and kept finding space between the net and the ground to escape. We gave up and let the butterfly out. It was raining outside and I felt as if some part of the butterfly died (maybe I held it too tightly as I let it fly?). I read into the dream in multiple ways and hence the topic “A Child’s wings”.

The first interpretation was Ashna, my daughter. It seems in our quest to protect her or to discipline her I may be limiting her. Recently our parenting style has become a combination of threats and bribes as we deal with her trying 3’s. It seems like each activity is a test of little one’s stubbornness vs her mom’s righteousness (hopefully!). I guess my dream was telling me to her more leeway and not impose rules upon her.

The other thought came to mind of holding the butterfly too tight and in turn harming it. I wonder if I am holding on to my career or certain thoughts too tightly and that limits me. With my daily awareness practice, I notice I like to jump to conclusions and being judgmental. I also need to continue to develop more compassion, tolerance and kindness.

Am I and are you holding things too tightly that are limiting? How can we let this butterfly enjoy its wings?

The Child’s wings

Still developing

Raw

And

Beautiful

Like a child’s laughter

The urge to protect

These little wings

A sense of security

But

Limiting

A child’s wings

And a desire

To see them be

The best wings

And then she says

Protect me for my strength

Not my weakness

(Last 3 lines credit to Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead)