For the Ancient Greeks, courage was one of the four great virtues. It was lived most vividly on the battlefield where soldiers would live out their duty despite the cost with Aristotle speaking of courage as the balance between fear and confidence. Tao Te Ching author, Lao Tzu, offers the insight that “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Etymologically speaking, the courageous life is the life full of heart. Whole-hearted living calls us to live fully into what can be the most dangerous and fraught of places: the inner life. It’s here that we experience the most profound springs, the most meaningful resurrections.
American Unitarian founder Rev. Wm. Ellery Channing wrote (in “The Union,” 1829), “There are seasons, in human affairs, of inward and outward revolution, when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul, when new wants are unfolded in multitudes, and a new and undefined good is thirsted for. There are periods when the principles of experience need to be modified, when hope and trust and instinct claim a share with prudence in the guidance of affairs, when, in truth, to dare is the highest wisdom.”
During this time of natural resurrection that takes on mythological proportions, celebrate the spiritual courage and daring it takes for the inner transformation that gives rise to Beloved Community.